Local prices for steel rebar in Russia have surged over the past week, supported by lively demand from traders and certain limitations on supply in the market due to some maintenance plans, in the central region specifically. Still, some sources say the price increase is somewhat speculative at the moment. Moreover, the situation may change for January production since the export duty cancellation will have an impact.
In the Central region of Russia, the local prices for rebar have increased by $37/mt (RUB 2,000/mt) to $722/mt (RUB 62,000/mt) CPT for November production. “There are still some stocks booked at $675/mt (RUB 58,000/mt) CPT and the new prices are higher, so traders are running around and buying from each other,” a representative of one mill said, commenting on the speculative mood in the market. In the Southern region of Russia, some prices have been reported at as high as $768/mt (RUB 66,000/mt) ex-works, while others say $698-722/mt (RUB 60,000-62,000/mt) ex-works levels are also available, up $58-77/mt (RUB 4,000-5,500/mt) over the past week.
Russian market players believe that there will be some price downturn in January, taking into account the expected cancellation of the currently valid $115/mt export tax. “Everyone who needs to buy will buy now. In January, the country does not work for half a month and the [local] price will become equal to the export price,” a producer said.