The European longs market has observed a strong upward movement this week, following the first signs seen in previous days. The Middle East scenario remains confused and uncertain, and oil, freight and energy prices continue to rise. Despite the price increases, however, demand remains very low, and several market players are wondering how long this trend can be sustainable for end-users.
As for rebar in Italy, between the end of last week and the beginning of the current week, local prices increased by about €30/mt, settling at €380/mt ex-works base (€640/mt ex-works including regular extras). However, sales remain limited to individual needs: "if customers stop [buying] now, mills will be forced to roll back," a local trader said. According to a source at an important Italian producer, there has been an attempt to further increase the requested prices to €400/mt ex-works base (€660/mt ex-works including regular extras) today, March 26, recording a rise of €20/mt compared to early in the week. However, the same source said that it is still too early to assess whether the new price will work. For the moment, it is only a theoretical level. Moreover, Italian mills have denied possible production stoppages over the Easter period (April 4-6, 2026), as energy prices decrease during the holidays and it will be cheaper to produce.
In other European markets, the requested prices for rebar stand at around €650-660/mt delivered to customer in Germany and at €620-630/mt CPT in Poland, where, due to the lack of demand, producers had to forego the previously requested increases at €635-660/mt CPT. According to a local source, some producers are also considering reducing production in April.
The Italian wire rod market is also confirmed to be on the rise. According to a source at an important Italian producer, some orders have already been concluded - again for small volumes - at €675/mt delivered for drawing quality, while the producer is aiming for €680/mt delivered for April. Despite this, demand remains weak.
Further price increases have been seen in export markets, with €670/mt FOB for rebar from Spain to Irish and UK ports (+ €60/mt week on week) and €610/mt FOB for rebar from Greece. For wire rod, on the other hand, price indications have been reported at €605/mt FOB, but this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
Finally, on the import side, rebar and wire rod prices from Turkey have been reported at around €550-560/mt CFR and around €560-570/mt CFR, respectively. Compared to the previous week, price increases have been recorded at €15-25/mt for rebar and €20-30/mt for wire rod, with an estimated freight cost of around $45-50/mt compared to the previous $30-35/mt and a euro-dollar exchange rate of 1.16 (European Central Bank, March 25, 2026). Egyptian offers have instead been reported at €545-555/mt CFR for rebar and at €555-565/mt CFR for wire rod, even though there are already some rumors about possible price increases in next week’s prices.
