North African HRC producers have been aiming to remain active in export markets, but this has been difficult due to quota-related issues in the EU and the upcoming vacation season. In the MENA region and Africa, competition over buyers has been fierce since demand has been rather sporadic, while Turkish mills have been fairly aggressive. Locally, HRC prices in North Africa have been stable officially but trade is done at discounts due to slow consumption. In fact, even the ongoing issues with power generation in Algeria, which is resulting in temporary production cuts, are not helping to increase the workable price levels for flat steel.
In Algeria, the domestic HRC price is still officially at DZD 110,000/mt or around $690-695/mt ex-works. However, the workable level is lower, at DZD 103,000-105,000/mt ($650-660/mt) ex-works, buyers report. Egypt's local HRC is officially at EGP 40,000/mt or $685/mt ex-works.
Import HRC offers are almost absent in Algeria due to the pending import license issues. Moreover, some buyers assume the process may be delayed even further, now when Algeria has been cut out of the European market, even if temporarily. In Egypt, however, around 25,000 mt of HRC have been recently booked from China at around $545/mt CFR. As a result, some Egyptian bids for ex-Turkey HRC gave been heard at as low as $550-560/mt CFR, versus offers at $590/mt CFR.
As regards exports, Algeria's HRC price for August-September shipments has been reported at $590-600/mt FOB, but discounts are considered achievable. Egypt is setting its offers according to the destination and seems to be currently focusing on the European market. The latest reported prices stand at $725-730/mt delivered CBAM paid. In Turkey, no fresh offers have been made for Egyptian HRC as the low local prices in this country mean that imports provide low margins for suppliers. Ex-Turkey offers, which had been at $656-575/mt FOB and later rebounded to $575/mt FOB minimum, are putting pressure on the general workable levels in the region.
$1 = EGP 51.35
$1 = DZD 133.35
