Steel markets/Long products: Asian price recovery gathers momentum

摘要

The recovery in Asian long products prices has gathered pace into September, thanks to firm market conditions not only in China but also increasingly in the region's import markets, where rebar prices have risen by up to 50 US dollars/tonne, reaching parity at 600 US dollars/tonnc c&f, with levels in Europe. As a result, the CRUspi for Long Products has risen by almost 4 percent in the past month to a new record level of 195.8. Despite the buoyancy in Asia, which has been strongly supported by rising production costs, conditions in the other major regions have remained relatively sluggish - and not just for seasonal reasons. Indeed, in Western Europe, where supply/demand fundamentals remain particularly weak, especially for rebar and wird rod, high consumer inventory levels continue to put downward pressure on prices. Mills have been so surprised by their lack of orders that to encourage some bookings, they've been willing to accept prices for rebar up to 30 euros/tonne (41 US dollars/tonnc) below last month's assessments. In fact since peaking in May, rebar prices in Germany have fallen by 135 euros/tonnc. The downward trend in European rod and rebar prices, which appears to be spreading to all long products other than structurals, is not surprisingly taking its toll on imports, as offers from Turkish and Chinese suppliers are becoming less competitive. Not only are Chinese suppliers finding greater demand in Asian countries, where investment in infrastructure is beginning to increase in countries such as Indonesia, but a recent flurry of activity in Middle Eastern markets has led Turkish exporters back to these markets.