Demand for ex-CIS billet has been limited so far this week with all major buyers in North Africa, Turkey and the GCC taking their time, having restocked earlier. A few deals have been done at higher prices and suppliers are still insisting on offers above $400/mt FOB.
About 30,000 mt of ex-Ukraine billet have been traded in Latin America at $400-402/mt FOB, while a small tonnage has been sold to East Africa at almost the same level. Most previous transactions were below $400/mt FOB.
Offers from major CIS-based steel mills are still at $400-405/mt FOB for April shipment and suppliers have been saying this level is workable. Offers for ex-CIS billet below $400/mt FOB have been heard only from traders for ready cargoes.
Nevertheless, low demand has been cooling the bullish sentiments. Moreover, in the scrap segment the uptrend has stopped for now, while the mills’ pressure on prices has been gradually increasing. There has been a lack of firm bids from customers in the MENA region and traders said that rare customers may discuss at below $395/mt FOB.
Though offer prices in Asia have started to increase, customers have still been looking for lower prices and deals are still below $425/mt CFR. Offers from Russia’s Far East have been at $430/mt CFR and higher (about $410-415/mt FOB Far Eastern Russia ports), while offers from the Black Sea region have been not competitive at all - starting from $440/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-CIS billet from the Black Sea region has increased by $3.5/mt on average to $395-402/mt FOB, with the mid-point at $398.5/mt FOB.