Posted on 04 Apr 2019
Imports of wire rod into north-western Europe are plentiful, but the recently-implemented import quota system is keeping them at arms-length [… from the market], sources tell Kallanish. Although domestic prices are not being significantly affected, they are likely to be so in the longer run. In addition, the EC’s quota information is not always reliable, one source says.
“The warehouses at the ports are crammed, and the general quota for the quarter that has just started will be quickly exploited,” the manager of a processing company says. Regarding the country-specific quotas, those for Turkey, Russia and Belarus are virtually exhausted until the end of June. Country-specific quotas run for a full twelve months, with the next period starting on 1 July. “And I guess that will be sold out by September/October. And then it will be difficult to get enough material until June 2020, unless the European Commission makes a move,” the manager says.
For a while, the domestic price for wire rod in north-western Europe has been at around €540/tonne ($607/t) delivered. According to one southern German scrap merchant, the mills have announced an increase of €35/t. A spokesman from a mill does not exactly confirm this, and plays down the level of demand in the market. According to the processor’s manager, high domestic prices are keeping orders low, be he is certain that EU mills will be encouraged to raise prices in autumn when the import quota is filled.
What is making matters worse is that the quota information given daily on the EC website is not necessarily correct, a source claims. “You make a move and take a risk, but due to faulty figures we paid some €430,000 in duties in February.”
