Southern Europe’s longs market is gradually returning to normal after the holidays and production stoppages, with some attempts at price increases being reported. However, it is still early, as not all players have fully re-entered the market.
In Italy, local rebar offers have been reported at €330-340/mt ex-works base (€595-605/mt ex-works including regular extras), confirming the upward trend that producers had started pursuing in December before the Christmas break. At that time, rebar prices in Italy were in the range of €310-330/mt ex-works base (€575-595/mt ex-works including regular extras). Nonetheless, some sources note that offers still exceed demand. Producers are reported to be aiming for a further increase of €20/mt, while buyers are pushing for a decrease by the same amount.
On the export side, ex-Greece offers have remained mostly stable: rebar has been reported at €585-590/mt FOB, while wire rod stands at €580/mt FOB, essentially unchanged from December (€590/mt FOB for rebar and €580/mt FOB for wire rod). From Spain, however, price increases have been observed: rebar has reached approximately €620/mt CIF UK, equivalent to around €590/mt FOB, up by €10-15/mt compared to December.
Regarding imports, the latest offers from Turkey have been reported at stable levels compared to December, with rebar at €570-580/mt CFR southern Europe and wire rod at €580-590/mt CFR. Stability was also noted in offers from North Africa: ex-Egypt offers have been reported at around €575-580/mt CFR for both rebar and wire rod, while ex-Algeria offers have been reported at €575-580/mt CFR for rebar and €560/mt CFR for wire rod.