The domestic flats prices in Russia have increased in offers for the new month of production, being mainly supported by costlier scrap and the overall firm uptrend seen in the global market.
In the hot-rolled sheet (HRS) segment, the new domestic offers for February production in Russia increased by RUB 1,000/mt since January 1 to RUB 57,000/mt CPT. The US dollar equivalent has also risen, partly due to a temporary rebound in the exchange rate - by around $60/mt to $690/mt CPT for the mentioned product. The local offers for cold-rolled sheet in Russia surged by RUB 2,200/mt ($75/mt) to RUB 61,200/mt ($745/mt) CPT, at least from one producer.
It is reported that trade in the local flats market is at decent levels in Russia now, partly owing to the persisting impact of ArcelorMittal Temirtau. Although the producer has partly restored operations after the electricity issue, some of the players estimate that its presence in Russia’s market is only at 60-70 percent of the previous supply figures.
In addition, the globally positive sentiment in the flats market supports the uptrend in Russia as well. However, some sources view the current situation as a somewhat speculative one. “Construction has traditionally slowed down in winter, but some of the end-users are already restocking for the seasonal demand improvement,” a source told SteelOrbis.
As regards exports, Russian mills prefer to keep silence for now, aiming to estimate the prospects and to evaluate their allocations for February-March. The latest sales to Turkey were at $610/mt CFR for sanctioned material at the end of December, while the new offers are expected at $650-710/mt CFR depending on the mill.
Prices in US dollars do not include 20 percent VAT.
$1 = RUB 68.66