The longs market in southern Europe, where mills are beginning to close for the usual summer shutdowns, remains almost stable: producers are trying not to move prices during this period in order to have a better chance of doing so in September.
In the Italian rebar market, the tug-of-war between producers and customers continues. The former are trying to hold on to €360-370/mt ex-works base prices (€625-635/mt ex-works including regular extras), while buyers are waiting for reductions despite the shutdowns. "I think this will continue until all the August closures," commented one trader. In the local wire rod SAE1006 segment, some producers have attempted an increase of about €10/mt to €610/mt delivered, but the results have been only partial.
In the export trade, it is proving even more difficult to push through producers' increases. Ex-Italy offers have been reported at €580-590/mt FOB for wire rod (with an attempted +€10/mt week on week) and €565/mt FOB for rebar, but some producers said they are not selling now because they have run out of material.
Ex-Greece offers have been between €540/mt and €570/mt FOB for rebar, while ex-Spain offers are at €540/mt FOB for the UK market. The sources have been talking about quite low demand for finished products and exports virtually at a standstill.
Import offer prices have been lowered during the current week. Currently, ex-Turkey rebar offers are available at $565-570/mt FOB (€530-540/mt CFR southern Europe) versus $575-580/mt FOB (€540-550/mt CFR) for August shipments earlier this week. In the wire rod segment, a few mills are also offering wire rod at $580/mt FOB (€540-550/mt CFR) for August shipment, cutting offer prices by $10/mt over the same period.
From the MENA region, ex-Egypt wire rod has been at $570-575/mt FOB (€545-550/mt CFR), ex-Saudi Arabia wire rod has been at $530/mt FOB (€515-520/mt CFR), and ex-Algeria wire rod has been at $550/mt FOB (€530-535/mt CFR), with ex-Algeria rebar at $540/mt FOB (€520-525/mt CFR). Offers from Asia have been reported this week at $550-555/mt FOB (€550/mt CFR) for ex-Vietnam wire rod and $530/mt FOB (€530/mt CFR) for ex-Indonesia and ex-Malaysia wire rod.