Italian domestic wire rod demand has only slightly picked up despite the end of the nationwide lockdown on 4 May. Producers are registering weak sales volumes in June after the very low volumes in May. This month prices are losing €10/tonne ($11/t) or more compared to last month, market participants tell Kallanish.

Companies are lamenting the very low market visibility. Despite the lack of import offers, the market remains very quiet. Stocks at buyers are said to be high. Before the lockdown, customers rushed to buy large volumes of wire rod in February in order to prepare for the crisis. They subsequently had two months of little or no sales activity. Some sellers believe that a process of destocking has started and will last for several weeks.

The basic quality wire rod is now priced at €390-405/tonne ($440-456) ex-works while the pre-lockdown level was around €410-420/t ex-works, sources say. Due to the process of destocking this month, demand is not forecast to improve as end-user sales are also deteriorating because of the economic crisis, Kallanish is told.