Billet offers from the CIS region to the international markets have increased by $10/mt on the lower end and by $20/mt on the upper end week on week and are currently at $520-530/mt FOB. Market sources state that purchases of ex-CIS billet have accelerated slightly this week amid the upward movement of the global scrap market and due to the expectations of a further rise in billet quotations.
Deals for ex-CIS billet, particularly in Turkey where billet supply has declined, have been concluded in the current week. CIS-based suppliers’ billet offers to Turkey have increased by $25/mt on the lower end and by $20/mt on the upper end during the past week to $540-550/mt CFR. Following the ex-CIS billet transactions concluded in the range of $525-535/mt CFR Turkey last weekend, market sources state that offers for ex-CIS billet have reached $550/mt CFR Turkey as of the middle of the current week. Meanwhile, ex-CIS billet deals concluded in Turkey since the beginning of this week were in the range of $530-540/mt CFR. On the other hand, considering current production costs, liquid steel producers in Turkey still prefer to use scrap for production, while Turkish rolling mills are mostly observed to be importing billet due to the advantage provided by Turkey’s inward processing regime (under this scheme mills have to give a commitment to export the finished products they produce from imported billet).
Ex-CIS billet offers to Egypt have increased by an average of $7.5/mt week on week and are currently at $535-545/mt CFR. Previously imported billet currently offered by traders in the local Egyptian market are lower than current ex-CIS billet prices, and as a result Egyptian buyers’ demand for ex-CIS billet is still at low levels, market sources state.