Italian merchant bar transactions for October delivery are stable compared to September. These are seen slipping further for the rest of the month however due to low demand and sliding scrap prices in the country, industry sources tell Kallanish.

At the moment merchant bar prices in Italy are the highest in Europe and are pegged at €460-480/tonne ex-works ($512-535/t), sources suggest. Although customers are asking for a downwards price adjustment in October, larger producers refuse to go below the level of €470/t ex works. Some distributors and smaller producers however, have reduced their quotations by €5/t each week since the beginning of September in order to offload stock.

French and German merchant bar prices are lower than those in Italy. French prices are pegged at €440-470/t ex-works with a stagnating market. Orders in the country have failed to pick up after the summer break and are not forecast to improve in the coming two weeks, sources suggest.