Russian mills have been rather actively trading their December production hot rolled coils (HRC) for export, being present in various destinations. Most of them are about to close their allocations, while some have just given offers, being limited in terms of volumes.
MMK, according to sources, has traded a total of 100,000 mt of December production HRC to Vietnam over the past two weeks at around $495-500/mt FOB. In addition, a small lot has reportedly been sold to Egypt at $505/mt FOB. The remaining volumes are expected to be destined for Turkey, unless the price situation in Asia improves further. MMK’s official offers to Turkey are at $510/mt CFR or $495/mt FOB, buyers report. No sizeable deals have been reported yet, but the supplier intends to insist on selling close to the announced levels. Russia’s NLMK has recently announced its December production offers for Turkey at $515/mt CFR, which equals around $500/mt FOB. The allocation is estimated at around 50,000 mt, similar to the previous month.
Severstal, the third Russia-based HRC mill, has almost completed sales of its export allocation for December production. The supplier has been strongly supported by the improved demand in Europe. The latest offers have been set at $495-500/mt FOB for small coils and $520-525/mt FOB for big coils. The remaining December volumes are said to be a bit over 30,000 mt and, moreover, Severstal has started to quote similar levels for early January production, SteelOrbis has learned.