As steel billet suppliers both in the CIS and Turkey have good levels of orders for their January production, the steel billet market has maintained its strong trend. Since the margin between steel billet prices and prices of finished steel products has narrowed, steel producers are more inclined to sell billet rather than roll billet into finished products.
This week, the lively steel demand from the Middle East and Africa has slowed down somewhat as prices have increased. After Turkish producers' recently concluded steel billet transactions to North Africa at $610-615/mt FOB, this week's firmer prices no longer appear as attractive as they were to buyers in this region.
By the middle of this week, Turkish producers have increased their steel billet offers to $635-650/mt FOB. In the meantime, steel billet offers from the CIS stand at $610-620 FOB thanks to their full order books for January, though they are not placing too many export offers at present. Steel billet offers from the CIS to Turkey are currently standing at $630-640/mt CFR.
Demand for ex-CIS steel billet offers is seen to remain at good levels, given its price advantage against Turkish offers. Depending on the raw material market trends, producers expect the steel billet market also to maintain its strength in January.