The Iranian hot rolled coil market has maintained its downtrend in the last few weeks in line with the further decreases in steel prices in the global markets. Iranian traders are currently offering CIS origin 2 mm HRC at about $525-530/mt ex-stock Anzali (Iranian northern port), down about $25/mt compared to the beginning of June and indicating a decrease of around $55/mt compared to three to four weeks ago. 3-12 mm HRC (production of main domestic flats supplier Mobarakeh Steel) is at present being offered by traders at about $600-610/mt ex-stock Esfahan, down about $20/mt compared to the start of June and down $30/mt compared to three to four weeks ago.
A rising trend was seen in the Iranian HRC market from early January this year until the second half of April when prices reached the level of $680-710/mt ex-stock. Prices have been declining, however, from early May up to the present.
For a few weeks now Mobarakeh Steel has halted its supplies to the local market through the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) due to certain tensions between Mobarakeh and the IME authorities. The resulting shortage of flat products, especially of HRC from Mobarakeh, has placed domestic producers of pipes and hollow sections under such pressure that they have protested to the Iranian authorities, seeking a resumption of supplies of flat products by Mobarakeh. The most recent sales of HRC by Mobarakeh via the IME date back to the end of May when it sold HRC at about $585/mt ex-works.
Meanwhile, the declining trend of HRC and of other flat products in the local Iranian market has been so strong that even the lack of supplies from Mobarakeh has been unable to provide support for HRC prices. Mobarakeh's sales policy frequently exerts a significant impact on the local market; however, it is unlikely to be able to alter the market trend under current circumstances.
Finally, Iran imported 2,066,000 mt of HRC in the last Iranian year (ended March 20), up 75 percent on the 1,179,000 mt imported in the previous year, according to the Iranian customs authorities.