On June 29, state-owned local producer Mobarakeh Steel sold two batches, 4,700 mt and 8,000 mt, of hot dip galvanized coil via the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) at about $720-$722/mtm/t ex-works with long delivery period of 85 days and 115 days respectively for cash payment. For several weeks Mobarakeh has been supplying hot dip galvanized coil through the IME at about $720/mt ex-works; meanwhile, free market prices have been experiencing some fluctuations over the past few weeks in Iran.
The social and political unrest which has followed the June 12 presidential election in Iran can be indicated as one of main factors behind the heavy stagnation in the Iranian hot dip galvanized market, and this stagnation in turn has contributed to pushing down price levels.
Most Iranian market requirements for hot dip galvanized are supplied by local producers, both state-owned and private, and so local producers play a key role in determining prices in a seller's market. However, we should not ignore the fact that a buyer's market has been in existence in Iran for about a year now, just as elsewhere around the world.
The existing stagnation in the Iranian domestic hot dip galvanized market has also caused a reduction in the volume of imports of this material in recent months. According to the Iranian customs authorities, Iran imported 22,693 mt of hot dip galvanized coil in the first two months of the current Iranian year (March 21 to May 20), compared to 38,863 mt in the corresponding period of the previous year.