The steel industry in Europe is facing weak demand and increasing costs. There are reports that a major regional company is considering an increase to 600 DAP for wire rod. However, market sources reported that a mill in Italy was operating at full capacity in September but has yet to make a decision for October.
Major steelmakers such as ArcelorMittal are also trying to increase prices. They initially requested an increase of €50 per tonne, but after two weeks it turned out that this increase was in reality about €12/tonne. This shows that demand is still at low levels.
The coil market in Italy has been extremely sluggish in the second half of September. Buyers are trying to postpone their purchases, insisting on price reductions. This week, interest in coil products has been very low. Many customers prefer to postpone their purchases as much as possible in order to reduce their stocks. Therefore, demand in the Italian flat plate market seems to have weakened significantly.
In the Polish rebar market, demand from the consumer sectors remains extremely weak. However, suppliers report some improvements in the market situation. In September, producers increased their prices for additional cargoes by EUR 5-7 per tonne, but domestic prices for 12-32 mm BST500 rebar remained stable at EUR 580-590/t CPT Warsaw (PLN 2,680-2,725/t).
Uncertainties remain in the industry.
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