CIS billet export offers increase slightly

CIS billet export offers are currently in the $540-545/mt FOB Black Sea price range for May shipments. CIS billet prices have increased again this week. However, customers in the Persian Gulf along with customers in Egypt (due to the tax imposed by that country on long product exports) are not showing much positive response to these levels. Furthermore, the rolling mills in Turkey are also unwilling to accept the CIS origin offers, since there is not a sufficiently large gap between the CIS prices and the Turkish domestic prices. The best markets for the CIS mills at the current time are Italy, as well as some Middle Eastern and North African countries.