In the last session of the SteelOrbis Spring '12 Conference & 66th IREPAS Meeting held in London on April 1-3, long product and
billet suppliers and producers, as well as traders and raw material suppliers, shared the conclusions they reached at their special committee meetings regarding the current situation in the markets with the general participants at the event.
Uğur Dalbeler, chairman of both IREPAS and the
billet suppliers' committee, stated that, due to the situation regarding
Iran, steel
billet supplies which used to be sent to
Iran are now being consumed domestically in the
CIS region, where steel
billet consumption has remained strong in recent years and is expected to remain strong in 2012. Mr. Dalbeler said that
billet consumption in
Turkey and the Gulf region has also been strong so far in 2012, and that the outlook for
billet consumption in these areas remains positive. On the other hand, he said that the market situation in
North Africa and
Syria remains difficult to predict. However, there are positive expectations for steel
billet consumption in
Iraq. Regarding the Americas, the central and southern American markets have also started importing steel
billet and the prospects are bright for these regions. Dalbeler concluded by saying that supply and demand in the
billet market are currently balanced.