Both domestic sales and exports to other European countries are slowing down further. Consumption seems to have decreased and new construction projects are either postponed, slowed down or not financed.
The current market pattern is to make one purchase after another or to hold off on purchases due to uncertainty and low visibility. The French private residential construction sector is slowing down more than in other European countries due to high interest rates and the tightening of credit conditions by financial institutions.
Private residential building licences decreased this year along with the number of new building sites. The Fédération Française du Bâtiment (FFB), the federation of French construction companies, reported a slowdown in activity in the first quarter.
With demand weak and distributors' and construction companies' inventories high, domestic rebar prices inevitably decrease by €40-50/tonne ($43-54) each month as European producers reduce capacity utilisation. Values range from €670-700/t depending on volume and customer, and April sales volumes were reported by distributors to be very low.
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