The local flat steel market in Russia has still not been in its best shape in terms of demand, although some improvements in orders have been reported for cold rolled and coated materials, with the situation in the HRC market being sustainable. Sales of HRS have remained subdued due slack demand coming from the construction sector and heavy machinery industry. As regards exports, Russian HRC mills continue to maintain a presence, targeting the regular destinations of Turkey and the MENA region, even though export prices are much lower than domestic prices.
Particularly, one of the sanctioned mills has started selling for October shipments, targeting $485-490/mt and up to $500/mt CFR, while in the previous round of sales the workable price levels stood at $465-475/mt CFR depending on the destination. A non-sanctioned Russian HRC supplier, according to sources, has sold at $510-515/mt CFR in the most recent deals for October shipment to Turkey, more or less in line with the latest transactions for September. The freight rates from the Baltic region are considered at $40-60/mt depending on the targeted destination, while from the Black Sea the rates are at $20-25/mt.
Aside from distant markets, Russia is still active in terms of sales to various nearby CIS countries, selling around 30,000-60,000 mt of HRC per month, local sources say. “The price levels are very different from country to country and the logistics are too. Compared to distant exports, the prices are from $20/mt to $80/mt higher compared to prices on ex-works basis,” a source at a producer told SteelOrbis.
Local HRC prices for the new round of sales have been announced at RUB 64,000-65,000/mt CPT or $668-678/mt CPT at $1 = RUB 79.85, relatively stable in the local currency over the past month. Mills’ HRS prices, according to sources, are offered from RUB 65,000/mt ($678/mt) CPT to RUB 64,000/mt ($668/mt) CPT depending on the thickness. Russia’s domestic CRC prices have settled at RUB 77,000-78,000/mt ($805-815/mt) CPT, sources said.