Posted on 14 Jan 2019
Italian domestic long products remain stable compared to December but sales activity has been slow since business resumed last week after the holiday break, Kallanish learns from sources.
Wire rod prices slid slightly in December but these are now stable at €500/tonne ($576.2/t) ex-works. The first category of beams also remains flat compared to last month at €230/t base or €610-620/t in transactions. As in December, beams remain in short supply in Italy. This is likely to sustain prices also during January. Merchant bar base prices remain at €130/t ex-works. Including size extras, they are at €550/t ex-works, market sources confirm.
However, commentators suggest that activity in the longs market appears to have been slow to gather momentum since the holiday break. This is due to uncertainty and concerns over faltering domestic and European scrap values. During first week of work after the holiday, players appear to have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, Kallanish notes.
