The prices of cold rolled coil, like the prices of other flat products, are finally soaring in the Iranian market after a long period of stability. At present local traders are transacting Mobarakeh production CRC of 0.5-1.00 mm thickness at $1,295-1,390/mt, which stood at a price range of $1,123-1,144/mt on ex-stock Tehran basis just two weeks ago. Russian CRC, which has the highest market share among overseas countries, has already reached prices close to those of Mobarakeh products in the local market, even though the quality of Russian CRC is lower than that of Mobarakeh's material. The latest price increase occurred after several weeks of stagnation in the Iranian market, at a time when global prices were soaring steadily .
The latest CRC sales (June 23) by Mobarakeh were at a price level of $1,055/mt ex-works with about 60-day delivery, sold through the Tehran Mercantile Exchange. This price was up about $44/mt in comparison with Mobarakeh's previous sale. Mobarakeh, which is the main local supplier of CRC, produced about 1.12 million mt of this product in the last Iranian year (21.03.2007-20.03.2008), up over 30 percent compared with the previous year. Naturally the increase in Mobarakeh's CRC output helps reduce imports, while it also creates a more stable market. Iran imported about 470,000 mt of cold rolled coil and sheet in the last Iranian year, which equals about half the import volume of the year before.
Nowadays local traders in Iran are worried about the issue of import flow, given the existing sanctions imposed by the UN against Iran's uranium enrichment plan. These sanctions, which generally entail an extra cost burden for Iranian traders, could slow down import arrivals in the future as the UN and the European countries gradually intensify their measures.