The Tube fair disappointed some market participants
Market participants said that the recent Wire+Tube exhibition in Dusseldorf caused an ambiguous attitude towards pricing trends, to the disappointment of some.
"There was a lot of talk about price increases and the like around the fair, but I didn't really hear anything concrete," a coil buyer from the Ruhr tells Kallanish.
For him, the two-hour trip might not have been worth it. "Some colleagues who have been going there for decades said they might not come again," he notes.
Another German customer notes that one of the factory groups lowered the prices for a roll to receive orders a week before the exhibition (see a separate article). It seems that this has slowed down the price increase.
Offers for the price of a hot-rolled roll from 730 euros per ton ($855) and above were announced before the exhibition and confirmed at the event, but were not confirmed by the factories.
The latest offers are now in the range of 700-730 euros, after a temporary decline below 700 euros.
Against this background, tube manufacturers were more open and specific in their statements about the price increase of 50 euros. According to the buyers, this step was expected because it was overdue.
The increase in tube prices has lagged significantly behind the rise in coil prices in recent months. "While coil was growing rapidly, tubes were getting more expensive by at least 5 euros per week," says one source.
Separately from the exhibition, one mill group informed those who are interested in prices that its next offers will be 50 euros more expensive, mainly for products such as sections and bars, which it did not present at the exhibition.
Elsewhere, a major buyer of construction rebar informed Kallanish that one manufacturer is now aiming for a base price of 480 euros per ton of straight rebar. This is significantly higher than the 430 euros that most rebar plants in Northwestern Europe rely on. According to the buyer, this offer is a one-off and does not really find a response in the broader market.
Author: Christian Kel
Kallanish.com