Long products producers in Northern Europe expect further price increases amid active trading, while the southern market remains calm.
Long products prices in Northern Europe have increased, and manufacturers who have enough orders for January are now expecting further increases in response to rising scrap metal prices, Fastmarkets sources said on Wednesday, December 17.
In contrast, the Southern European market remained relatively calm, they added.
The German supplier reported that trading had been "pretty good" recently, allowing businesses to fill their order portfolios for January.
The last rebar sales were carried out at a price of 600-615 euros per ton, while wire rod sales were completed at a price of 590-600 euros per ton, which is reflected in the corresponding weekly estimates of Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets estimated prices for rebar steel rods supplied to Northern Europe at 600-615 euros per ton on December 17, compared with 595-600 euros per ton on December 10.
The corresponding weekly price estimate for domestic steel wire rod (high-quality mesh) supplied to Northern Europe decreased to 590-600 euros per ton on December 17 from 580-600 euros per ton on December 10.
Given the sufficient sales volume and the increased cost of scrap and reduced availability, the region's factories intend to further increase prices for long products after the holidays, which should help them increase profitability, Fastmarkets believes.
"With the current margin, no one is making money," the producer said.
In Italy, the price increase that began in the second half of October has finally stopped, and Fastmarkets' weekly estimate of prices for steel fittings for domestic consumption (exw) in Italy remained unchanged on December 17 at 560-600 euros per ton from the factory, reflecting three weeks of inactivity.
It was reported that the Italian market is already in holiday mode and is not expected to revive until early January, as market participants are mostly set to decline in early 2026.
"Manufacturers are not so optimistic about 2026," the trader said in an interview with Fastmarkets.
"We may see a decrease in demand due to the reduction of some large government[construction]jobs. But the private sector is still weak, so we can't have high hopes for the new year," the trader added.
Fastmarkets' estimate of prices for steel wire rod (mesh quality) supplied to Southern Europe in the domestic market remained unchanged as of December 17 and amounted to 570-590 euros per ton from the factory.
Author: Vlada Novokreschenova
Fastmarkets.com