The continuous rising price trend seen in the Italian rebar market is perhaps without any previous comparison. It's not by chance that quotations for this product have reached very high levels.
Currently, the actual rebar prices are touching €560/mt for domestic production in the wake of the new extras applied by the Italian mills. The increases vary between €25/mt for eight mm diameter and above, and €40/mt for six mm diameter. According to reports, the new extras have been accepted by end-users in spite of the already elevated levels of rebar prices. As regards imported rebar, quotations of $650/mt FOB have been reported for Turkish products.
The above price levels will in fact all have to be reviewed in the coming days in the light of the Chinese government's decision to reduce its export tax rebate for steel products. There is a risk of seeing an immediate increase in the price of rebar imports by the equivalent of the rebate reduction, i.e. by eight percent; and also of later seeing a corresponding rise in the prices of Italian production rebar. Thus, there doesn't seem to be any possibility of a drop in rebar prices in Italy in the short and middle term. This is all the more true as billet quotations are not showing any signs of ceding ground.
According to traders in the market, the three main props supporting such a market are the usual ones: the rise in exports, the producers' low inventory levels, and the good demand generated by a construction sector which is in robust health.