The uptrend in the ex-CIS billet market has continued this week, in accordance with expectations. And prices have reached $650/mt FOB in some deals since late last week, as SteelOrbis has learned on January 26.
A contract for around 35,000 mt of ex-Ukraine billet has been done to Latin America, to the Dominican Republic specifically, at $650/mt FOB recently. This price was offered to Latin America by CIS-based producers earlier this month, but customers have only accepted it just now, seeing that the uptrend in the global market is gaining momentum.
In addition, Egyptian buyers have continued purchases. A lot of 10,000 mt of ex-CIS billet has been sold at $675/mt CFR, translating to $640-645/mt FOB Black Sea, similar to that reported by SteelOrbis late last week. Also, a bigger volume up to 30,000 mt of ex-CIS billets has been traded at around $650/mt FOB, corresponding to $680-685/mt CFR Egypt. “After deals at $675/mt CFR, a sale has already been heard at $685/mt CFR for end of March shipment,” a source said. “Other markets [apart from Egypt and Latin America] do not follow the current Black Sea prices at $650/mt FOB,” he added. But most market sources agree that the uptrend in the CIS billet segment is unlikely to stop and that prices may keep rising gradually in early February.
By today, January 26, the activity of CIS-based suppliers has faded away as they have been mainly sold out for March shipment and they have been evaluating the future market. One of the major mills from the CIS is not offering officially at the moment. Other large mills, which were offering at $650-655/mt FOB Black Sea early this week, have been also withholding offers, targeting higher prices from next week on.
The situation in Turkey’s import billet market is mainly described as a non-supportive one, although it mainly hits traders while the mills are quite comfortable given the limited allocation issue. A majority of offers have been heard at $670-685/mt CFR and up to $690/mt CFR from some producers, up slightly from last week. Despite the clear uptrend in the CIS billet export segment, Turkey is reluctant to deal at the mentioned levels as they are in line with most domestic offers. In addition, scrap prices have been relatively stable and the rebar sellers, despite ongoing production stoppages, are still struggling to sell in both local and export markets.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-CIS billet has been increased by $7.5/mt on average since last Friday to $650/mt FOB Black Sea.