Following several export deals for hot rolled coil (HRC) closed in December for January production, Russia has remained interested in selling the product to distant markets. The key reason is the slower domestic sales activity in Russia itself due to seasonality and the holiday period, coupled with relatively firm HRC market conditions globally.
According to sources, a sanctioned Russian HRC producer sold another 35,000-40,000 mt of HRC to North Africa in late December at $610-615/mt CFR, in line with the previous deals for 60,000-70,000 mt in total. Overall, the supplier has traded close to 150,000 mt of HRC to distant export markets for production from December to mid-February and there are some tonnages still available for sale, but the price may be increased. Another Russian HRC mill is rumoured to have sold medium-size lots to Turkey at $630-640/mt CFR before the holiday. The information has not been confirmed by the time of publication, but most market players estimate that the price should include some size and grade extras and the cargo is also to be delivered over a shorter term compared to the alternatives.
In the cold-rolled coil (CRC) segment, the Russia’s export availability is reportedly scarce due to limited supply. “MMK has a couple of months maintenance at a pickling line. We are not giving to the CIS much tonnage and in the local we are selling according to announced price list,” a source told SteelOrbis. As a result, according to the market information, one of the suppliers considers anything below $830/mt FOB Black Sea for CRC to be unworkable, while another, according to sources, has been testing at around $790-800/mt FOB in the Turkish market.
In the domestic market in Russia, trade has been slow, which is traditional for this time of the year. The latest domestic prices from one of the producers have been at RUB 66,000/mt ($605/mt) CPT for hot rolled sheets and at RUB 82,220/mt ($755/mt) CPT for cold rolled sheets.
Prices in the local currency include 20 percent VAT.
$1 = RUB 90.9