Hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have come down during the last two weeks in Iran. Currently, local traders who import HRC from CIS countries are offering CIS origin HRC of 2 mm thickness at about $690-695/mt ex-stock Anzali port (Iranian port on southern Caspian Sea) for immediate delivery and cash payment, down from $695-700/mt about two weeks ago and up from $645/mt about four weeks ago.
Higher thicknesses of HRC, i.e., 3-12 mm - produced by principal domestic flat steel supplier Mobarakeh Steel, are now standing at price levels of about $700-745/mt ex-works Esfahan, down from $705-780/mt about two weeks ago and up from $635-700/mt about five weeks ago.
On Monday, September 20, Mobarakeh Steel sold about 117,500 mt of hot rolled coil to the local market through the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) at $610-633/mt with 60-day delivery. On September 6, Mobarakeh had sold HRC via the IME at $607/mt with 75-day delivery. Mobarakeh's HRC sales prices for the local market are usually controled by the Iranian government, and this can contribute to the cooling of the market especially when it has overheated.
As anticipated by most local traders, the rising trend in the Iranian HRC market has been unable to prolong its upward movement. In the last two weeks, prices of both flat and long steel products in Iran have started to decline. Participants in the domestic HRC market are currently keeping a close eye on local prices and most of them are avoiding transactions at present as they think that prices may drop down further in the coming days.