Most Russian flats producers have announced their new domestic prices for March rolling, increasing them significantly, supported by high and active export sales and also owing to the decent trade seen locally.
According to sources, two out of three mills have announced a $78-100/mt (RUB 7,000-9,000/mt) price increase for hot-rolled sheets (HRS) in the local market over the past month, while their cold-rolled sheet (CRS) offers have increased by $67-95/mt (RUB 6,000-8,500/mt) over the same period. The third mill is still taking its time to announce sales prices for March, while its latest CRS levels in the previous round of sales increased by $22/mt (RUB 2,000/mt). “Demand is mainly speculative due to the increasing export prices and limited supply. End-user demand [in Russia] is moderate,” a producing source told SteelOrbis.
In the export segment, Severstal has recently closed sales of March production allocation with the most recent transactions done at $940-960/mt FOB Baltic Sea. NLMK has been offering at around $900-905/mt FOB Black Sea, specifically having sold at $930/mt CFR Turkey, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. In its turn, MMK is still mainly out of the active export market due to its scheduled meltshop maintenances. As a result, the mill is voicing only a limited allocation, trying to test buyers and to collect bids. The latest level reported in Turkey has been at $940/mt CFR for 10,000 and for mid-May latest date of shipment, up by around $15-20/mt compared to earlier this week. The freight to Turkey is estimated at $25-30/mt currently.
Local flats offers for March production, CPT
HR sheets |
RUB/mt |
$/mt |
RUB/mt |
$/mt |
MMK |
85,000 |
948 |
+9,000 |
+100 |
Severstal |
85,000 |
948 |
+7,000 |
+78 |
NLMK* |
78,000 |
870 |
0 |
0 |
CR sheets |
|
|
|
|
MMK |
93,000 |
1037 |
+8,500 |
+95 |
Severstal |
92,000 |
1026 |
+6,000 |
+67 |
NLMK* |
88,000 |
982 |
+2,000 |
+22 |
* - mill’s latest sales prices for February production
Prices in US dollars do not include 20 percent VAT.
$1 = RUB 74.7.
