Longs sellers in the local Romanian market have failed to realize their earlier attempted price increase and have been forced to provide discounts this week. One reason is the reversal of the price trend in the scrap market, while another is the still limited demand and slow business activity ahead of the summer vacation season.
This week, Romanian domestic retail rebar prices are at approximately €715-745/mt ex-warehouse, compared to €715-760/mt ex-warehouse last Friday. Due to their excessive storage, Romanian rebar traders have had little or no interest in imports for over a month. According to sources, the latest prices have been coming from Greece at €800/mt delivered, down €5/mt over the week.
The expected pricing level for Turkey, which is primarily supplying for September shipments to Europe owing to quota issues, is about €655-680/mt CFR based on a $1 = €0,99 exchange rate and roughly €25-30/mt freight.
Local retail prices for wire rods are currently at €745-760/mt ex-warehouse in Romania, which is a decrease of €25/mt from the previous week. On the other hand, some traders are seeking to offload stocks for €705-720/mt ex-warehouse this week, which is considered an aggressive level in the current market conditions. In the import market, Greek mills have offered wire rod at around €810-845/mt delivered, from €845/mt delivered last week, while Italy has offered wire rod at €870/mt delivered.