The upward movement seen for quite some time in CIS-based suppliers’ billet export prices has given way to a declining trend over the past week, with ex-CIS billet export quotations moving down by $5/mt on the lower end and by $10/mt on the upper end week on week to $520-530/mt FOB.
The declines seen in CIS-based suppliers’ billet export prices have been caused by the reductions seen in global scrap and Chinese billet export quotations, and also as demand for ex-CIS billet has fallen short of initial expectations.
It is observed that billet offers from the CIS region to Turkey have declined to $535-540/mt CFR over the past week, while this price range is still higher than domestic billet quotations in Turkey. Additionally, Turkey buyers are maintaining a wait-and-see stance and are postponing their billet purchases in an attempt to gain a clearer picture of the future trend of import scrap prices in Turkey. As a result, demand for ex-CIS billet in Turkey, which has already been at low levels for some time, is still weak.
Meanwhile, it is reported that ex-CIS billet offers to Egypt are currently at $540-545/mt CFR. However, despite the rises seen in domestic billet and finished steel prices in Egypt, buyers’ demand for ex-CIS billet in this North African country is not strong and buyers are currently in no rush to conclude new deals due to the downtrend of global raw material and billet quotations.