Firmer scrap and a positive HRC market remain the key supportive factors for ex-CIS slab pricing both in the Mediterranean and Asian regions.
As expected, Turkey has accepted a price rise for steel slab: 20,000 mt were sold from the CIS at $417/mt CFR Izmir, up $12/mt compared to the previous deal. Offers from Russia were reported at $420-425/mt CFR with no fresh sales reported. In the meantime, a Brazillian seller, according to market sources, has sold up to 50,000 mt at slightly above $415/mt CFR, while the same level was reported as an offer to Turkey’s Iskenderun region. No fresh sales were reported to the Italian market either, with the indicative offers standing at around $425-430/mt CFR this week, SteelOrbis understands. As a result, ex-CIS slab prices are settled at $405-410/mt FOB Black Sea for February production. There are no offers from the Baltic region as the local supplier is getting ready to start maintenance at two of its converters, with work on the first one to begin in January, as reported earlier.
Though overall demand has been at low levels in Asia recently, slab exporters to the region expect new deals to be closed at higher prices. Offers for ex-India slabs have been heard at $420-430/mt CFR over the past week, while Russian suppliers have also not been ready to deal at below $420/mt CFR as they are sold out for January shipments. The previous deals were done at $400-415/mt CFR for slab of different origins over the past three weeks. At the moment, $420/mt CFR or $400/mt FOB Far Eastern ports is the level which can be accepted by customers, taking into account the situation in HRC, SteelOrbis understands. In particular, HRC prices in Vietnam have increased by $20-25/mt since early December to $480-485/mt CFR.
