CIS origin billet faces difficulties in finding buyers

Current billet export offers from the CIS are standing at $550-560/mt FOB for late September and early October shipments. The CIS has been facing difficulties in finding buyers for its billet in certain regions where it has a corner on the market, due to less expensive Chinese finished steel  export offers for products such as rebar, wire rod and angle.
 
As SteelOrbis has heard from market insiders, ex-CIS billet offers to the UAE are at $590-600/mt CFR, while market players in the CIS are offering billet to Saudi Arabia at the level of $585-590/mt CFR and at $570-575/mt CFR to the local Egyptian market. However, no deals have been heard so far at these price levels because buyers in these regions are not eager to conclude new deals at the moment as they do not know how far prices will decrease. In addition, rolling mills are thinking twice before getting involved in import activities, since Chinese finished steel export offers to the countries in question are standing at the same levels as the CIS billet offers and even lower.