Italian long products price fall is accelerating by the week. Such fast descent after the summer holiday is considered an “…anomaly” but it is in line with the national and international scrap and other raw material price plunge, market sources tell Kallanish.

“We are approaching the minimum levels of 2009. The current falls across all steel products is happening too fast. Some players expect a rebound in the coming weeks” a sales executive comments. Some level speculation is foreseen when end users start buying due to the current lower prices. This could eventually cause some price hikes into October.

Merchant bars and beams are losing €10/tonne ($11.3/t) every week since the last week of August. The price range for merchant bar is now €470-480/t ($532-543/t) base ex works while domestic cat. 1 beams quotations are pegged at €480-490/t, sources suggest.