Long products market participants in Europe are talking about an increasingly noticeable upward pressure on prices. At the same time, the fundamental indicators do not yet confirm a stable trend: the increase in quotations is still largely due to an increase in production and logistics costs.
According to one of the sources, the German market is gradually gaining momentum, and prices are likely to continue to rise.
"The market in Germany is gaining momentum, and prices will certainly rise," said a market participant.
At the same time, he added that competition from traders remains high, since after the summer period, there is still a lot of material purchased at lower prices in warehouses.
In Poland, there remains a significant gap between domestic prices for rebar. Sources say that different plants have a quotation level in the range from 600 to 655 euros per ton. On the one hand, cost pressures are pushing the market up, and manufacturers are reportedly seeking to raise prices for both rebar and wire rod by about 20 euros per ton. On the other hand, demand remains weak, and uncertainty prevents participants from taking a confident position.
September is traditionally considered the period when manufacturers try to raise prices after the summer recession, but this year the costs of electricity, gas, transport and logistics have a particularly strong impact.
"Visibility is very, very limited," the source said. "And also because, in the end, it is demand that determines the trend. When the forecast for October becomes clearer, we will be able to better understand how the year will end."
In the Turkish import market, prices for rebar and wire rod also increased by about 20 euros per ton over the week. As a result, rebar is offered at 585-590 euros per ton CFR, and wire rod at 590-600 euros per ton CFR. However, no actual transactions were reported.
In Egypt's export segment, rebar is reportedly offered at about 560 euros per ton, and wire rod at 580 euros per ton. This is 15-20 euros higher than as of September 4th.
1 euro = 1.15 dollars.