The upward trend in international steel markets triggered by the recent rising trend in scrap prices has impacted positively on ex-CIS billet prices. SteelOrbis has been informed that ex-CIS billet offers have increased by around $10/mt over the past week to the range of $360-370/mt FOB. Meanwhile, Belarus-based Byelorussian Steel Works (BMZ), which generally plays a significant role in shaping the CIS billet market, has opened a billet tender at $365/mt FOB, indicating an increase of $10/mt compared to the price levels announced two weeks ago.
Ex-CIS billet offers are considered to be on the high side in the import billet market in Turkey, an important market for CIS exporters, while in the short term Turkish buyers are unlikely to accept such high prices on FOB basis. On the other hand, some market sources report that an ex-Russia deal has been concluded in Italy for 10,000 mt of billet at $360/mt FOB, for prompt shipment.