Egyptian mills have been reporting generally satisfactory levels of demand for longs in the domestic market with official prices being mainly stable, though some producers have been offering more aggressive prices, aiming to generate more sales. As regards exports, however, prices have increased since last week, mainly on the back of higher scrap prices, but also due to decent wire rod demand coming from Saudi Arabia against the backdrop of the Iran war.
Export offers for Egyptian rebar are currently standing at $610-620/mt FOB for June shipments, $10/mt up over the past week, while wire rod offers for most destinations have now settled at $620-625/mt and up to $630/mt FOB, for the same lead time. The most active demand is coming from Saudi Arabia, where there is a lack of wire rod specifically due to raw material issues the mills are having because of the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. Egypt, being a regular, nearby source and able to sell with no import tax, is naturally benefitting from the situation. As a result, the ex-Egypt wire rod price for Saudi buyers is at $660-665/mt FOB or up to $700/mt CFR Saudi Red Sea ports. Some sellers evaluate the volume of the demand coming from Saudi Arabia for wire rod at around 40,000-50,000 mt per month. Last week, there was information in the market about a deal for a full 50,000 mt wire rod cargo sold from China to Jeddah at $555/mt CFR.
In the domestic market in Egypt, the official Ezz Steel price has remained at EGP 39,850/mt or $650/mt ex-works, while some of the large competitors are offering at EGP 38,000-39,300/mt ($620-640/mt) ex-works, SteelOrbis has learned. In addition, according to sources, some of the suppliers are selling at as low as EGP 37,000-37,300/mt ($605-610/mt) ex-works, most probably aiming to spur sales.
In the billet segment, the latest price from one of the key suppliers has been reported at EGP 34,500/mt ($563/mt) ex-works, while the material from induction furnaces has been at EGP 31,500/mt ($515/mt) ex-works. The import billet prices from Russia and China are estimated at $520/mt and $535/mt CFR, respectively, neither being workable under the currently safeguard duty. The domestic bonus scrap price has settled at EGP 24,000/mt ($391/mt) CPT, but some sources expect an increase to be announced in the near term.
The domestic prices in EGP include 14 percent VAT.
$1 = EGP 53.8
