Southern European rebar exporters are currently receiving very low bids from customers. While most mills are resisting accepting these levels, traders confirm the market is under pressure.

Until last week, rebar mills in both Italy and Spain were holding their offers at €640-650/tonne ($749-760/t) fob and above, but buyers mostly rejected these levels. "If South European mills want to export, they will now need to lower their prices further, but most are not willing to yet," a trader notes.

Algerian buyers are bidding at €580/t fob southern European ports for rebar, as their local supplier is selling at the equivalent of €630-640/t delivered. A recent offer into Algeria at €660/t cif from a European mill was however rejected by buyers.

Pressure is mounting as scrap prices stabilise at lower levels and Turkish suppliers of rebar become more competitive. According to the Kallanish price series, Turkish rebar is currently sold at the equivalent of €560-570/t fob Turkey.

European rebar exports are decreasing significantly this year. According to preliminary Eurofer data, European rebar suppliers could export 800,000 tonnes in 2021, almost half of the 1.5 million tonnes they shipped in 2019.