Ex-CIS billet prices move down

During the past week, demand for ex-CIS billet in the export markets has remained at low levels. As a result, CIS-based exporters have reduced their billet offers by $10/mt on the upper end compared to last week to $390-400/mt FOB. Although Chinese billet export quotations have moved up in the same period, the declining demand for ex-CIS billet has forced CIS-based suppliers to reduce their billet offers with the intention of accelerating their sales.
 
Ex-CIS billet offers to Turkey where buyers had for some time considered CIS-based suppliers' billet offers to be on the high side have moved down by $10/mt week on week to $400-410/mt CFR. However, demand for semi-finished and finished steel in Turkey has remained sluggish, and so Turkish buyers still consider ex-CIS billet offers to be unattractive.
 
The weakness of demand for ex-CIS billet in Egypt, which started two weeks ago following the previous strong trend of demand, has continued over the past week, while CIS-based suppliers' billet offers to this destination have softened by $15/mt on the upper end, consolidating at $415/mt CFR. The declines already recorded in import billet offers have strengthened Egyptian buyers' expectations for a further fall in billet offers and accordingly they are in no rush to conclude new deals for import billet.