Egypt has seen higher import hot rolled coil (HRC) offers this week as the flat steel pricing in the region remains strong, partly owing to the somewhat limited allocation for March shipments.
Turkey’s HRC offers to Egypt have increased by $5-10/mt over the past two weeks to $530-535/mt CFR for March shipments. Ukraine is in the market with $500/mt CFR Egypt, up around $20/mt compared to the previous round. No official offers have been heard from Russia just yet, but sources estimate them at $515-520/mt CFR, again for March shipments. “I don’t think Egypt would pay far above $515/mt CFR today. Weaker scrap in Turkey is another factor - finished steel prices may not hold,” a trading source told SteelOrbis.
In the export segment, business activity has been moderate. Ezz Steel continues offering March production HRC at around $510-515/mt FOB. Some 10,000 mt of HRC from Egypt have been sold to Saudi Arabia at $535/mt CFR, up around $5/mt higher from December. Offers to the south of Europe are at $535-540/mt CFR, with no deals reported. Turkey is in the market with $520-525/mt CFR offers to the same destination, SteelOrbis has learned.
