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Europe Steel: Upward Price Pressure on Longs Despite Weak Demand, Mixed Plant Activity Signals

In Europe, long steel prices are exhibiting upward tension amid persistent low order levels, as highlighted in both “European longs prices show upward tension amid low orders” and “Prices for European long positions show upward tension amid low order levels“. This pricing pressure is occurring despite weak demand and buyer resistance, while plant activity shows mixed signals. Satellite observations reveal varying activity levels across key European steel plants, with no clear, direct connection to the broad price trends explicitly identified in the news articles.

Bar chart and satellite map of steel production activity in Europe

The mean steel plant activity in Europe shows a significant decline from approximately 407 million in August 2025 to 271 million in October 2025.

JSC Moldova Steel Works, an EAF-based plant with a 1 million tonne crude steel capacity producing wire rod and rebar, showed a gradual increase in observed activity from 30% in June to 33% in September. No data is available for October. The activity increase at this plant producing rebars doesn’t correlate directly with the Romanian market situation described in “The Romanian long paper market is still experiencing difficulties due to low demand and liquidity pressures, but local prices remain stable.“, as the article indicates stable prices despite low demand.

StavStal Metallurgical Plant, a 500,000-tonne EAF-based producer of rebar and wire rod, maintained a relatively stable activity level around 70-71% from June to October. These steady production levels occur alongside reports of upward price pressure in the European long steel market, but no direct connection can be explicitly established based on the provided news.

SN MAIA Siderurgia Nacional, a 600,000-tonne EAF-based rebar producer in Portugal, experienced a decline in activity from 21-22% in June-July to 18% in October. This downtrend in activity aligns generally with price tensions but no direct connection is seen explicitly.

Evaluated Market Implications:

The article “Rebar prices keep climbing in Italy amid reported limited availability” highlights rising rebar prices in Italy. The article also mentions the fire at Pittini Group’s Ferriere Nord plant which temporarily shut down an electric-arc furnace.

  • Potential Supply Disruptions:

    • The fire at Pittini Group’s Ferriere Nord plant and decreased SN MAIA Siderurgia Nacional activity contributes to potential rebar supply tightness in Italy and potentially the Iberian market.

  • Recommended Procurement Actions:

    • For Italian rebar buyers: Given the limited availability and rising prices, explore securing supply from alternative sources (e.g., Turkish imports, Bulgaria or Moldova), especially if the Ferriere Nord disruption persists. Closely monitor production restart announcements from Pittini Group.
    • Monitor Portuguese rebar market: Track prices in the Iberian market in light of reduced activity at SN MAIA.
    • For market analysts: Track EAF steel plant incident reports, combining it with close monitoring of satellite data to generate and test hypotheses regarding correlation between such events and actual steel supply.