CIS-based hot rolled coil exporters have been working under tough market conditions lately. As the demand and workable price levels in key consuming destinations have been falling drastically, the CIS-based suppliers have been forced to follow the downtrend, resulting in their prices going below $400/mt FOB Black Sea. In the meantime, offers are not solid as every producer prefers to deal from buyer to buyer in order to grab a deal.
Currently, the ex-CIS HRC price is estimated at $380-395/mt FOB depending on the seller and the consuming market, while earlier $410-420/mt FOB and slightly above levels were considered workable, with some 20,000 mt in total sold to North Africa. In Turkey, demand remains close to zero with official offers from Ukraine being at $410/mt CFR for small coils. Around the same level is reported by the seller for North Africa; however, the buyers report that levels as low as $390/mt CFR Egypt and $385-390/mt CFR Algeria also exist for sizeable lots. Ex-Russia offers to Turkey from the Black Sea region have been vague as there is no serious bidder around. One of the producers has been testing $415/mt CFR lately with no luck.
In the Baltic region, Russia’s Severstal have decreased its price by $45-50/mt over the past two weeks. Business has been livelier in the northern part of the EU with offers at $425-430/mt FOB or €420/mt CFR Antwerp. The southern part of the EU has been almost muted in terms of demand, while the supplier’s offers are not higher than $400/mt FOB Baltic Sea. Aside from the EU, Severstal has been evaluating potential sales to other global markets, including Turkey, North Africa and Asia, SteelOrbis has learned. The latest offers to Turkey were at €400/mt CFR or around $435/mt CFR with no deal done.