Antitrust says prices for rebar falling by 15.7% as of Wednesday

MOSCOW, Dec 8 (PRIME) -- The prices for reinforcement steel, or rebar, contracted by 15.7% as of Wednesday as compared with October, and exchange trading in rebar is developing in order to stabilize the market situation, the Federal Antimonopoly Service said in a statement on Friday.

“According to the service, the rebar prices contracted by 15.7% on average as of December 6 as compared with October 2023 … The exchange trade in these products is being developed in order to stabilize the situation on the rebar market,” the service said.

However, the service is still working together with the Industry and Trade Ministry and the Construction, Housing, and Utilities Ministry on a joint order that defines the minimum amount of rebar that the companies will have to sell through the exchange.

In late September, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Yevtukhov said that the recent growth of the rebar prices was caused by decisions of some companies, not thanks to objective factors, and asked the antimonopoly watchdog to call on them to behave.

In October, the service launched a case against the Promsort group of companies over a 25% increase of their prices for rebar. The group of companies entered the St. Petersburg Mercantile Exchange in November, and said it planned to sell at least 150,000 tonnes of products per year through the exchange.

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