In the last session of the SteelOrbis Fall 2012 Conference & 67th IREPAS Meeting held in Munich on September 30-October 2, suppliers and producers of long steel products and billet, as well as traders and raw material suppliers, shared the conclusions reached at their special committee meetings regarding the current situation in the markets as well as their expectations for the near future with the general participants at the event.
Uğur Dalbeler, chairman of both IREPAS and the billet suppliers' committee, stated that in the last six weeks news from China has put some pressure on billet prices. However, he went on to say that the view of the billet suppliers' committee is that downward price movement may not be seen. At the same time, the IREPAS chairman stressed that the real issue is to be able to do business while achieving healthy margins. The committee agreed there are shortages of scrap and that this is the main reason why billet prices have not decreased further. Although the situation in MENA countries is difficult, putting China to one side, the situation in the global billet markets is generally characterized by equilibrium, according to the committee. In conclusion, Dalbeler stated that, with the winter just around the corner, collecting scrap will be difficult and this will provide support for billet prices.