There has generally been good demand in the southern European longs market in the past week, where, however, tradable prices appeared to be stable at the lower end of the range, while import prices were noted to be rising.
In Italy, for example, there are orders in the local rebar market at around €330/mt ex-works base (€595/mt ex-works including regular extras), stable compared to last week. “It’s true that producers are asking for €360/mt ex-works base (€625/mt ex-works including regular extras), but only to push customers to pick up what they have ordered,” an Italian source commented. Overall, however, sources say demand is currently good and sufficient.
As for exports, ex-Italy rebar offers have been reported at around €580/mt ex-works particularly for destinations via truck such as eastern Europe, where demand is best. Ex-Spain rebar offers, on the other hand, have been reported nearly stable at £615-620/mt CIF UK ports, or around €585-590/mt FOB. Ex-Greece offers have also been reported stable, at €610/mt FOB for rebar and €600/mt FOB for wire rod.
However, offers in the import segment have been increasing: from Turkey, in fact, offers have been reported for rebar at €570-575/mt CFR southern Europe and for wire rod at €585/mt CFR, up €10-20/mt from last week. Ex-Egypt rebar has been sold at €560/mt CFR southern Europe and Egyptian wire rod at €575/mt CFR, but offers have been reported at about €5-10/mt higher than the sale prices.