In the past week, Russian mills have been more active in steel slab sales rather than in the HRC trade. One reason is the relatively positive local market while allocation is limited. Another reason is the decent demand in several destinations. However, starting from the end of March, prices have started to weaken, specifically in Turkey.
Softer scrap prices and silent demand for flats have pulled down the price idea of Turkish mills for import slab. The announced reduction of energy tariffs in Turkey is another significant factor: since Turkish mills’ cost of production is now lower, some of them have chosen to produce their own semis and put pressure on import offers.
In Turkey, the ex-Russia slab price is now at $630-640/mt CFR from some suppliers, buyers report, versus $645/mt CFR and $650/mt CFR in deals for 30,000-40,000 mt closed in the second half of March. Moreover, for sanctioned material, the workable prices levels are estimated at not more than $600-610/mt CFR. In the meantime, ex-Indonesia slab offers have decreased by $25/mt over the past week to $640/mt CFR. Chinese suppliers are now offering at $630-640/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned.
In addition to business in Turkey, one of the mills from Russia has lately traded a total of 70,000-80,000 mt of slabs to Latin America at $540/mt FOB, SteelOrbis has learned. In addition, some temporary steel production cuts in Europe may result in higher slab demand in the EU, which could in turn support slab pricing in other destinations.
