Despite Weak Demand, Global Steel Rebar Prices Remain Stagnant in the Third Week of July 2023

In the week ending July 21, Steel Rebar prices show a stable trend across the globe, despite the weak demand from the buyer's side. The labor shortage steered a halt in construction and infrastructural development projects. The European housing crisis tends to increase in July as the housing sales decrease, leading to a lower consumption rate of Steel Rebars in the European market.

The demand for Steel Rebar remains stable from the downstream construction sector as the housing crisis remains in European countries such as Germany and UK. The reduction in construction demand has been a major concern for the Steel Rebar market as the depriving economic stability across Germany was the cause for the lower purchase rate of houses. The number of Unsold houses increased at the end of Q2 this year, which resulted in lesser permits for new construction projects across the European market and lowered the demand for Steel Rebar. Furthermore, the lack of workers in the European construction and building sector has triggered damping of construction activity, especially in the UK, because of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union called Brexit. For further ease, the UK government has issued relaxation regarding new VISA rules for foreign workers for the sectors concerning engineering, construction, bricklaying, plasterers, and other construction jobs of various grades.

The growth in Steel Rebar prices was minimal in the Northern European region as the arrival of the summer holidays amid weak market sentiments led to a slow purchase rate for Steel Rebars. Most plants across Europe have already curtailed production as the summer holiday starts, along with the demand from the downstream Infrastructural development sector remains firm. The uncertain economic condition provoked the buyers to halt their placement of large orders as the Steel Rebar market was not showing a tendency for a long-term growth rate.

Meanwhile, a similar trend has been observed in the USA as the construction rate declines amid the sale of housing decline in the quarter ending June 2023, resulting in a high inventory level for Steel Rebar. The uncertain economic condition amid anticipation of further increases in interest rates to stabilize the economy led to lower purchasing rates for Steel Rebar from local customers. In the meantime, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a US trade association representing the non-union construction industry, has recently opposed the new final law for Improvement in Workplace Injuries and Illnesses by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as the final law does not compile to achieve the goal stated by the worker's group for their safety and precautious measures. This reduced the construction rate across the USA and reduced Steel Rebar consumption.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Steel Rebar has been expected to remain stable amid the summer shutdown and will continue till Mid-August. The demand tends to be on a lower edge in the prospect as the economic condition remains uncertain as anticipation of increasing interest rates will hamper the purchase of Steel Rebars.