The longs market in southern Europe has remained stagnant ahead of the holiday season. Prices have been stable for some time now and no significant changes are expected before the summer shutdowns.
In the local rebar segment in Italy, some producers have stated their intention to raise prices, but "the market is so stagnant that I think it's very difficult to achieve," one Italian source commented. Indeed, demand has also been reported as being low compared to supply this week, with buyers having limited needs. The tradable price for local rebar in Italy has been stable at €340/mt ex-works base (€605/mt ex-works including regular extras), with discounts down to at least €320/mt (€585/mt ex-works including regular extras) for large orders.
According to market sources, ArcelorMittal has also announced an increase of €20/mt for longs in Europe, in particular due to rising costs, but it is not yet certain if this increase will be absorbed. It is more likely that it will be used as a starting point after the summer shutdowns.
Wire rod is facing a similar situation, with some Italian suppliers reporting almost stable prices. In Italy, local wire rod remains at around €650/mt delivered for drawing quality and €630/mt delivered for mesh quality.
There have been no major signals of changes in the export markets either. A Greek source has reported stable offers at €625/mt FOB for rebar and €610/mt FOB for wire rod on average, while from Italy it seems that suppliers want to stay at the higher end of the range of offers they were making: one source stated that they did not want to go below €590/mt ex-works for rebar exports, partly due to fears of increases in Italian scrap prices and partly to be able to "restart" in September with higher offers.
Another Italian source reported that drawing quality wire rod export offers are at €650-670/mt delivered, with mesh quality wire rod at €610-630/mt delivered, considering Germany and western Europe as the markets for the lower end of the range and eastern Europe for the higher end.
Regarding imports, ex-Turkey offers have been reported down by €5/mt for rebar, now standing at €560-565/mt CFR southern Europe, and stable for wire rod, still at €570-575/mt CFR.