In the Iranian domestic market 0.50-1.25 mm thick cold rolled coils are currently being transacted by traders in a price range of $700-760/mt ex-stock Tehran. A week ago the same product stood at $730-820/mt, while it had been changing hands at $750-850/mt at the beginning of February.
Mobarakeh Steel, the main supplier of cold rolled coil in the Iranian market, has not reduced its prices in the last few weeks even though market prices have been coming down steadily.
On February 23, in its last supply of cold rolled coil via the Iran Mercantile Exchange, Mobarakeh sold material at $627/mt ex-works with 85-day delivery and for cash payment.
Cold rolled coil prices in Iran have been coming down rapidly in January and February 2009, showing the strongest decline among the other flat steel products in the local market. Weak demand along with the plentiful supplies of cold rolled coil are the two main factors behind the existing stagnation in the Iranian domestic cold rolled coil market.
Nevertheless, in spite of the strong decline of cold rolled coil in the local market, prices are still higher than global levels. As a result, cold rolled coil buyers, mainly made up of downstream industries, remain hopeful enough of further price reductions. They continue to expect local prices to descend to international levels and so are still standing aside from purchase activity for the time being as they await new developments in the market.