Even though Romania and the rest of Europe are still on their summer holidays, which has resulted in a slow week for business activity, some long steel traders have begun to look around for the best prices and last week bought some lots from Turkey. Meanwhile, in the local market, due to the lack of a change in demand, the sole rebar producer and the majority of long steel spot traders have maintained their previous offers.
“Demand is low, but it is acceptable given that the summer holidays are underway. However, with some softening in the Turkish scrap market over the last two days, it has been quieter. So, I foresee decreased demand in the next weeks as clients await price drops here as well,” a Romanian trader told SteelOrbis.
Based on information obtained from sources, a Turkish supplier sold 10,000 mt of rebar to Romania at $570/mt FOB, whereas current offers are in the range of €535-550/mt CFR, taking into account the prices of $570-580/mt FOB from Turkish mills, freight costs of $25-30/mt, and the current exchange rate of €1 = $1.11.Moreover, Greece has kept its rebar and wire rod prices to Romania at €645-660/mt CFR and €635-650/mt CFR, respectively. Similarly, Moldova has continued to offer rebar at €590-600/mt CPT.
On the other hand, over the past week, in the domestic market, the sole local producer’s rebar prices have remained at €575-580/mt ex-works. Likewise, retail pricing for rebar in Romania has remained stable at €570-590/mt ex-warehouse since last week.
A similar scenario has been observed in the wire rod segment, where the majority of traders have maintained their offers at around €580-595/mt ex-warehouse from last week.