Domestic prices for steel rebar in Poland rose in the week to Thursday, April 30, amid signs of improved demand for long products in the country, but customer appetite was still limited.
Some plants offered rebar at a price of 3050 zloty (843 USD) per ton of CPT, but no trading activity was reported at such prices during the evaluation period.
It was heard that buyers resisted the price increase, and market sources reported that although there were some requests for materials from key sectors such as infrastructure, it was still "not enough" to say that demand was good.
"Customers only buy in order to replenish their stocks. The demand for real estate is good, but there are no major infrastructure projects," said one of the sources in the sector.
During the week, market participants reported rebar transactions at a price of about 2,800-2,900 zlotys per ton of CPT, noting signs of upward market pressure.
Fastmarkets' weekly price estimate for rebar steel rods, domestic, excluding VAT, in Poland on Thursday was 2,800-2,900 zlotys per ton, up from 2,800-2,850 zlotys per ton in the previous week.
The recent increase in domestic rebar prices in Poland coincided with similar trends across Europe, where prices were also rising amid higher production costs.
Fastmarkets' weekly price estimate for rebar steel bars, domestic, supplied to Northern Europe, was 700-735 euros ($821-862) per ton on April 29, up from 700-710 euros per ton on April 22.
Meanwhile, the weekly price estimate for rebar steel rods exported to Italy was 700-730 euros per ton, also up from 700-725 euros per ton in the previous week.
On the other hand, prices for high-quality wire rod for drawing in Poland have not changed, while market sources cite low customer demand for the material, but expect the market situation to improve over the summer.
Estimates of market prices at the level of 3000-3050 zlotys per tonne were announced.
Fastmarkets' weekly price estimate for domestic-made steel rod (drawing quality) supplied from Poland on Thursday was 3,000-3050 zlotys per ton, unchanged week to week.
Author: Melissa Vandervoort
Fastmarkets.com
