CIS suppliers have reduced their billet offer prices to a range of $640-650/mt CFR Iranian northern ports for production in June and shipment in July, down from $680-685/mt CFR Iranian northern ports two weeks ago - in line with developments in the global markets for scrap and iron ore in the last few weeks. CIS suppliers finally reduced their prices after a few weeks' struggle to maintain their previous price range of $680-685/mt which they had been offering in early/mid-April. However, no transactions have yet been recorded at the new reduced prices ($640-650/mt) as Iranian buyers are generally looking forward to seeing further price reductions in the coming days.
The downtrend in global billet prices has influenced the levels of ready stock billet prices in Iran. Currently, local traders are offering billet at about $625-630/mt ex-stock Iranian northern ports, down by about $50/mt from $675-685/mt 10 days ago. The low price of ready stock billet in the Iranian market means Iranian buyers are not inclined to welcome the new reduced billet offers from CIS suppliers, as they can simply buy available ready stock material at the same prices or at even lower prices.
Meanwhile, according to the Iranian customs authorities, Iran imported about 4.4 million mt of semis (mainly billet) in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2010).