A large Iranian steel producer has lately succeeded in closing an export tender for steel slabs, following quite a long period of silence in this segment. According to sources, the mill has traded 30,000 mt of slabs at $472/mt FOB, for end-of-October shipment. The tender had been announced on September 13 with validity of around one week, but it was prolonged for a few more days.
This latest ex-Iran slab sale translates to $502-507/mt CFR Southeast Asia at the lowest. This indicates an increase from the latest ex-Russia sale to China at $475-480/mt CFR or below. Market sources believe that the allocation of ex-Russia slabs has been limited after introduction of the export tax at seven percent due to take effect from October 1. “The market is in a mess. Everybody [at Russian mills] is trying to figure out the price,” a source said. As a result, for Asian slab importers the option of cheap slabs has been limited, given that ex-ASEAN offers have not been below $530/mt CFR.
