The Romanian long paper market is still experiencing difficulties due to low demand and liquidity pressures, but local prices remain stable.
With persistently low demand, limited sales volumes, and ongoing liquidity pressures affecting both buyers and sellers, the outlook for the Romanian long position market remained bleak last week. Despite these difficulties, domestic prices generally remained stable for both the country's only rebar manufacturer and local traders. However, the slow pace of business development still forces some traders to offer prices below acceptable levels in an attempt to attract customer interest and ensure minimal turnover. Meanwhile, the import market remained calm after the quotas were exhausted, which reduced interest in new deals with Turkey or other non-EU suppliers. Market sources report that when it comes to restocking, Romanian buyers are increasingly turning to nearby suppliers such as Bulgaria and Moldova due to shorter lead times and more flexible supply options.
As a result, the supply of fittings in the domestic market has not changed over the past week. The only producer in the country continues to hold prices at 550-555 euros per ton from the warehouse, while spot traders maintain quotes at 550-565 euros per ton from the warehouse, which corresponds to last week's level. Despite this, some traders are still willing to negotiate lower prices to increase sales, while discounts of 535-540 euros per ton from the warehouse are provided for larger orders.
Prices in the wire rod segment have also not changed. Despite weak demand, traders continue to offer the material in the range of 560-570 euros per ton from the warehouse, while no significant changes were reported during the week.
Regarding imports, there were no reports of any significant new purchases from Romanian buyers, except for the occasional supply of small shipments from nearby suppliers. Overall, import prices remained mostly stable. According to market sources, EU suppliers continue to keep their offers at the same level: the Bulgarian plant offers fittings at a price of 570-580 euros per ton without VAT, and the supplier from Moldova maintains prices at about 550 euros per ton without VAT, unchanged from last week. Among suppliers from non-EU countries, Egyptian factories also kept their prices unchanged, offering rebar at 485-490 euros per ton CFR and wire rod at 495-500 euros per ton CFR. On the contrary, Turkish suppliers have increased their offers by about 10 euros per ton over the past week, which was facilitated by higher prices for scrap metal. Turkey's current proposals are