On November 11, ex-
CIS billet prices had increased by an average of $7.5/mt compared to the previous day to $390-400/mt FOB due to the sharp increases recorded in Chinese
billet quotations.
However, during the past four days Chinese
billet prices have decreased by $30/mt compared to the price levels recorded on November 14 amid the sharp declines recorded in the Chinese futures market and due to the weakness of domestic demand. After this development, it is observed that the upward movement of ex-
CIS billet quotations which had started at the beginning of October has come to an end this week, with
CIS-based suppliers'
billet prices moving sideways since the beginning of the current week.
In Egypt, where ex-
CIS billet purchases are still being made,
billet offers from the
CIS region increased by an average of $17.5/mt towards the end of last week to $420/mt CFR, while
CIS-based suppliers have kept their
billet offers to the country unchanged in the current week.
Market sources state that buyers in
Turkey have also continued their ex-
CIS billet purchases both during the weekend and in the current week.
CIS-based suppliers'
billet offers to
Turkey have moved sideways since the beginning of the current week in the range of $400-410/mt CFR, after increasing by $10/mt on November 10-11.
On the other hand, despite the significant falls seen in Chinese
billet export offers since November 14, no improvement has been recorded in demand for Chinese
billet due to delivery times and freight costs.
CIS-based suppliers are increasingly worried amid the downward trend of Chinese
billet export prices.