Italian beam prices are set to increase in September following scrap and other long product hikes. However, while rebar, wire rod and merchant bar transactions soared over the past two weeks, demand for sections remained subdued with weak but stable month-on-month prices, Kallanish learns from market sources.

Some section producers are pushing up their asking prices to €130-135/tonne ($154-159/t) base. This level should be reached in transactions in September when the market resumes activity. Before the market shutdown for the August holiday selling prices for the first category of beams were between €100/t and €120/t base. This including €385/t size extras gives a finished ex-works price of €485-500/t. Prices increase by €20/t for each subsequent category, sources suggest.

Soaring scrap prices pushed up long product prices in Italy, but demand is not considered to be improving. July brought some longs demand increase as distributors and service centres needed to replenish their stocks before the August break. The sources interviewed by Kallanish forecast increasing long and scrap domestic prices for the first two weeks of September but uncertainty and risk of price deflating for the remaining part of the month.