Russian flat steel producers have been under pressure from low demand in their domestic market. In the meantime, the possibility to redirect some additional volumes to the export markets has been limited due to the current export tax and also due to decreasing prices globally. As a result, local flats prices in Russia have dropped significantly over the past couple of weeks.
According to sources, last week prices for hot rolled sheets (HRS) in Russia dropped by $57/mt (RUB 5,000/mt) to $800/mt (RUB 70,000/mt) ex-works. However, this week one supplier has set its new offer at $765/mt (RUB 67,000/mt) ex-works and other producers are expected to follow the same policy. “They are the hostage of their stocking system. Their stocks are increasing and traders are not buying, so the prices fall,” a source told SteelOrbis.
In the cold rolled sheet (CRS) segment, domestic offers have fallen in a few separate steps by $80/mt (RUB 7,000/mt) to around $900/mt (RUB 79,000/mt) ex-works.
Prices in US dollars do not include 20 percent VAT.
$1 = RUB 73.