Slight price declines have been reported in the local and export long steel markets in southern Europe, contrasting with offers coming from Turkey and North Africa.
There has been some movement in the local rebar segment in Italy, where the reference price has now decreased by €20/mt on the lower end. Local rebar offers in Italy have in fact been reported at €280-300/mt ex-works base (€545/565/mt ex-works including regular extras), compared to an average of €300/mt ex-works last week (€565/mt ex-works including regular extras). Minimal demand and maximum supply are the current characteristics describing this market. Offers for local wire rod in Italy have been reported at stable levels of €630-640/mt delivered.
Ex-Italy rebar offers have been reported at €560-570/mt FOB by sea, virtually stable week on week, and at €550-560/mt ex-works by truck (slightly higher than the local price). A source also reported ex-Spain/ex-Portugal rebar offers at approximately €585-590/mt CIF UK port, equivalent to about €560/mt FOB, stable week on week. Higher offers have been reported from Greece: €590/mt FOB for rebar and €600/mt FOB for wire rod, both stable compared to two weeks ago.
Turning to import offers, they have generally increased, especially those from Turkey and North Africa. These regions, partly due to rising import scrap prices, as well as price increases in China and limited domestic supply, have decided to seek higher export prices. However, it will be necessary to wait for China’s return to the market after its National Day holiday for a concrete assessment. Ex-Turkey offers for rebar have been reported at €575-585/mt CFR southern Europe (compared to €550-555/mt CFR last week) and for wire rod at €585-595/mt CFR (up from €560-565/mt CFR last week). The main ex-Egypt rebar and wire rod offers have been declared at €550-560/mt CFR, up by €20/mt week on week, but, according to some sources, they could increase further. Lastly, ex-Indonesia wire rod offers have been reported at approximately €520-530/mt CFR.