Rebar production plants in northwestern Europe are expected to increase their offers slightly this month, but not by much, and the market will receive them ambiguously.
So far, no new offers have been received. Most German lands had long holidays, and in some, including Austria, the feast of Epiphany was celebrated on January 6. Therefore, the players expect that new offers will be received no earlier than next week, at best at 20 euros per ton ($23). "Craftsmen who have good construction orders will pay, but others will not bother to replenish stocks," says the Austrian cutting and bending manager
."The market remains boring and crazy," says Kallanishou, a manager from East Germany, referring to the willingness of many entrepreneurs to snatch jobs from construction companies at so-called dumping prices. His company "will perform well over the next six months, and it remains to be seen what will happen after that."
The introduction of the Carbon Dioxide Emissions Regulation Mechanism (CBAM) and other political circumstances mean that many players expect prices to rise, but demand in the broader market does not really support this, observers say.
In December, factories were unable to raise prices as much as in previous years after filling their order portfolios. "We expected a slight price spike, but it didn't happen," confirms a customer from a German distribution group. He believes that the current base price is about 340 euros per ton ($396), and is now gradually approaching 350 euros, partly due to the fact that scrap metal prices have increased by about 10 euros.
A buyer from an Austrian group of companies talks about a deal that was concluded back in December at a price of 330 euros per ton, "but I would not expect such a[low price]result now." Mills' modest target could be 350 euros per tonne, which, plus a surcharge of 265 euros to the standard size, would give 615 euros per tonne. However, "they may receive 10 euros more for a few weeks, and then they may have to return 10 euros," says one of the players, describing the instability of the market.
Author: Christian Kel
Kallanish.com
