There has been a slight recovery in the Romanian long-rolled metal market this week: individual quotations have increased, although there is still no noticeable improvement in underlying demand.
Construction activity remains below previous expectations, and purchases are mostly cautious. At the same time, the pressure on prices is increasingly determined by rising costs, rather than increasing consumption.
Logistics is of particular concern. Market participants report growing problems with the safety of freight transportation and a further increase in the cost of transport. An additional cost factor will be the new tax introduced on October 1 for trucks weighing more than 3.5 tons. According to market estimates, it can increase the cost of road transportation by about 7-8 percent.
As a result, buyers are faced with a situation where supplies become more expensive even without tangible support from demand. Lack of liquidity and weak purchasing power continue to limit the ability to make large purchases. Market participants attribute the recent increase in prices for long-length rolled products primarily to an increase in the cost of logistics and operating costs, rather than to a recovery in business activity.
In the domestic market, retail prices for rebar from the warehouse rose to about 615-625 euros per ton from 610-615 euros per ton a week earlier. Beltrame, on the other hand, kept prices for rebar unchanged at around 600-610 euros per ton from the factory.
Retail prices for wire rod also increased and reached about 640-650 euros per ton from the warehouse against 635-640 euros per ton a week earlier.
Demand remains selective, but it has not completely disappeared. Romanian buyers are still ready to place orders if competitive offers appear in the nearest markets, but now they have no particular incentive to increase their purchases: a significant part of the material purchased in the summer is still in warehouses.
Bulgarian fittings rose in price to 650-660 euros per ton for delivery to Romania against 640-660 euros per ton a week earlier, excluding VAT. There were no new offers from Hungary. No new quotes have been reported from Italy either, and the latest available rebar price is still about 590 euros per ton FCA, which is equivalent to about 655-665 euros per ton delivered to Romania with a freight of 65-75 euros per ton.
Moldovan suppliers keep prices generally at the same level. A number of rebar sales to Romania are reported at 610-620 euros per ton, and wire rods at 645-655 euros per ton.
Greek manufacturers offer rebar at 640-650 euros per ton FOB, and wire rod at 660-670 euros per ton FOB. Taking into account transportation to Romania, which is estimated at 20-25 euros per ton, this corresponds to about 660-675 euros per ton.