Prices for ex-Russia billet have continued to move down this week from both the Black Sea and Far East ports of Russia. The drop in the scrap market and critically slow demand in all major destinations ahead of holidays have continued to put pressure on prices.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet in Black Sea has declined to $680-690/mt FOB by Friday, down by $5-10/mt from that seen in the middle of the week and down $17.5/mt over the past week. After a deal rumored at $720/mt CFR Turkey for 30,000 mt early this week, as SteelOrbis reported on Wednesday, no deals have been confirmed since then. Most market sources said that the tradable level discussed to Turkey, which has become the main sales destination for Russian billet lately, has hardly been above this level. But most buyers have been reluctant to purchase ahead of the holidays next week. “I don’t believe anyone in Turkey bought anything this week,” a Turkish source said, adding that buyers’ price ideas have already been heard at $700/mt CFR.
The $720/mt CFR deal for a big tonnage corresponds to $685/mt FOB Back Sea or so, sources agreed, while for smaller tonnages the freight is $50/mt on average. Market sources believe that more price cuts may come from Russia after the holidays next week.
In the Asian market, a contract for 10,000 mt of ex-Russia billet from Far East ports has been done at $745/mt CFR East Asia, though the deal most probably was for vanadium-added material, which is usually $10-15/mt more expensive than base billet. So, the tradable level for ex-Russia base billet has been assessed at $730-735/mt CFR in SE Asia, corresponding to $675-680/mt FOB Russia’s Far East region.
In China, the latest offer for ex-Russia billet has been reported at $650/mt CFR, down by $20/mt from the previous deal to the country. But no fresh contracts have been heard yet in the falling market.
