Prices for billet in the GCC region have increased since the end of August and trade has been livelier. Slightly better demand for rebar and higher offers for products is the key reason.
Oman’s Jindal Shadeed has increased its offers by at least $15/mt over the past couple of weeks to $465/mt CPT and slightly above. Around 10 days ago, the supplier traded a total of 25,000 mt for October production at $450/mt CPT to both the UAE and Oman. In the new round of sales, buyers believe $5/mt discounts will be available.
In the UAE, Arabian Gulf Steel Industries is at $465/mt ex-works for October-November production with no deals reported. Similar levels are expected to be offered by Emirates Steel Industries. Offers to the UAE from Saudi Arabia are reported at $445/mt CPT, most probably from induction furnace-based mills.
In the import segment, around 30,000 mt from India was traded at around $455/mt CFR, up from around $440-445/mt CFR in the previous sales. In addition, this week 45,000 mt of ex-CIS billet has been traded to the GCC region at around $410/mt FOB, which is expected to correspond to around $440/mt CFR or slightly above, SteelOrbis understands.