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Prices for rebar and wire rod exports from Southern Europe have fallen by €5 ($6.50) per tonne this week, due to falling scrap prices and weak demand for the material, market sources told Metal Bulletin sister title Steel First on Wednesday May 15.
“We are not doing many deals. There are just a lot of people in the market who do not really need to buy, but are just seeing how low the mills will go,” one producer said.
Spanish, Italian and Portuguese rebar export prices are now at €455-460 ($591-597) per tonne fob main Southern European port, down from €460-465 ($591-604) per tonne last week.
Market participants said that a lack of orders from the key Algerian market was weighing on prices, but expected the price trough to be close.
“I don’t believe scrap can come down too much further as collecting the scrap will otherwise be too precious. I believe scrap, and hopefully rebar, will have bottomed out,” a Portuguese trader said.
Price levels on mesh-quality wire rod have tracked those of rebar, market sources said.
Export prices for mesh-quality from Spain, Italy and Portugal are now €465-470 ($604-610) per tonne fob main Southern European port, down from €470-475 ($610-617) last week.
Elfi Middelbeek emiddelbeek@steelfirst.com Twitter: @EMiddelbeek_SF