This week, Romanian long steel prices have remained unchanged at both mill and trader levels, even as some market participants have continued to test higher price ideas. Considering the ongoing weakness of the demand environment, the caution of buyers and the approaching holiday period, most traders and the domestic mill prefer to keep prices stable for now and are focusing on selling existing stocks. Nevertheless, a number of traders have attempted to raise their offer levels on the back of CBAM-related expectations and anticipated tax-driven increases. According to market sources, however, these attempts have largely failed, as business activity remains slow and lower-priced, and discounted material continues to circulate in the market, preventing acceptance of higher quotations.
Domestic rebar prices remain unchanged, with the country’s sole producer keeping offers at €550-555/mt ex-works. In the retail segment, traders also maintain stable pricing at €550-565/mt ex-warehouse, in line with last week. Although a few traders continue to test higher levels at €570-575/mt ex-warehouse, these attempts have seen no meaningful interest, as buyers are still able to source discounted material at €540-545/mt ex-warehouse.
The wire rod market shows a similar picture. Prices remain stable at €560-570/mt ex-warehouse, with traders reporting weak demand and no upward momentum.
On the other hand, import market activity in Romania has also remained muted, reflecting the similarly weak conditions seen in the domestic market. With local demand still sluggish and stocks at comfortable levels, most Romanian buyers have refrained from new bookings and are purchasing only small volumes from nearby suppliers when necessary. Despite the limited buying interest, some upward movement in offers has been observed on the EU side, largely driven by CBAM-related expectations. According to market sources, Ukrainian suppliers have increased rebar prices to €585-605/mt CPT, up from €580-600/mt CPT last week, while Moldovan material has been offered at €570-580/mt CPT. Among non-EU suppliers, Egyptian mills have kept their pricing unchanged, maintaining rebar offers at €485-490/mt CFR and wire rod at €490-495/mt CFR. Turkish suppliers, supported by the firmer scrap trend, have continued to lift their offers slightly, now quoting at €500-515/mt CFR, up from €495-510/mt CFR in the previous week based on an exchange rate of €1 = $1.16 and estimated freight costs of €15-20/mt.