Although activity in the global billet market is currently in a lull due to the holidays, yet another Iranian mill has floated a fresh billet export tender.
Iran’s Arfa Iron and Steel has launched a sale of 30,000 mt of billet for delivery at the end of February, with a January 6 deadline for bids.
The workable price level for Iranian billet is estimated at $440-445/mt FOB. In fact, according to sources, the latest deal by another mill was closed at the upper end of the range. The lowest bids reported in the market stood at $438/mt FOB. Such levels, however, are workable only in the MENA region, while for Asia they have to be lower by around $20/mt, SteelOrbis estimates.