During the 48th week, almost all products in both the
CIS domestic and export markets experienced negative correction in their prices. The only exception was, as before,
CIS-origin A3 grade
scrap, the exporters of which adopted a waiting attitude. In the Russian domestic market, steel mills - to avoid a new price race - did not raise their procurement prices for
scrap any further during the 48th week.
Scrap: markets return to awaiting states
During the 48th week, the Black Sea region
scrap market was governed by almost complete inactivity with regard to purchases of
CIS-origin
scrap.
Scrap exporters from
Russia and
Ukraine adopted a wait-and-see stance, trying to anticipate how the Turkish
scrap consumers would react to the price rise implemented for deep-sea
scrap during the 47th week. However, the
scrap importers did not fulfill the
CIS scrap exporters expectations of a renewal of A3
scrap purchases, since the price of the product was still higher than that offered by the US and European
scrap exporters.
The Russian domestic
scrap market had returned to its situation of nervous stability during the week ended December 4. Following the price hike during the 47th week, the domestic steel producers resumed their
scrap purchases, but were cautious not to engage in the dangerous price race which was responsible for the high domestic
scrap prices late last summer. Therefore no price changes were observed in the course of last week.
Scrap prices in
Ukraine also saw stability during the 48th week. However, as history has shown, the current stabilization will not last for long and the next price rise in the Ukrainian domestic market may be expected even this week.
Long products: markets still in slowdown
During the week ended December 4, the
CIS longs exports market showed a negative trend. Because the demand for
longs was still slack in the
Middle East and Gulf regions while supply was quite high, the
CIS exporters were forced to lower their export quotation for both
rebar and
wire rod by on average $30-40/mt during the week in question. Similarly, the Russian and Ukrainian exporters had to reduce their prices for
construction steel. Thus, the price of
CIS-origin angle decreased by on average $15/mt, while that of channel bar decreased by on average $5-20/mt, during the 48th week.
Rebar continued to decrease in price, although by a lesser degree, in the Russian domestic market. In the course of the week,
rebar price decreased by on average 0.33 percent compared to the five percent decrease registered during the 47th week. The
rebar price decrease can be expected to continue in the Russian domestic market since there are still many import offers present at cheaper prices, regardless of the seasonal slowdown. As for the other long products, beam prices rose by on average 3.7 percent, showing a record level during the 48th week. Channel bar and angle prices decreased by on average 0.9 percent and 1.2 percent respectively in the Russian domestic market last week.
During the 48th week the Ukrainian domestic long products market continued to experience the price decreasing trend that started during the 47th week. In the course of the week, the
rebar price dropped by on average UAH10-30/mt ($2-6), the channel bar price decreased by on average UAH10-20/mt ($2-4), while beam and angle showed only slight changes.
Flat rolled: negative trend is still present in the markets
CIS-origin
flats continued to follow their downward price trend in regard to CR during the 48th week. In the course of the week,
CIS-origin CR became cheaper by $10/mt while HR and
galvanized showed stable levels.
The Russian domestic
flats market experienced slightly negative tendencies during the 48th week. The weakening purchase activity forced both domestic traders and producers to lower their prices a little. In the course of the week, the HR price dropped by on average 1.2 percent and
galvanized steel decreased by on average two percent. Meanwhile, CR prices decreased in the domestic producers' price lists for December by on average two percent, but showed a rise of two percent in the traders' prices in the Russian domestic market.
The Ukrainian domestic
flats market saw some price changes during the 48th week. The most visible ones were in respect to the CR price, which decreased by on average UAH10/mt ($2), and also the HR price, which decreased by on average UAH 13/mt ($2.5).