Prices for ex-CIS billet has reached a new high on Friday, May 7, with a fresh deal from Black Sea to China being done and far more inquiries have started to come from other sales destinations, SteelOrbis has learned.
A deal for around 50,000 mt of ex-Ukraine billet has been reported at $715/mt CFR China late this week. This price is $5/mt higher than the previous contract for billet from Russia’s Far East region, heard just a day earlier at $710/mt CFR. This $715/mt CFR corresponds to $650-655/mt FOB Black Sea, according to a number of sources. “The Chinese market is giving strong support, and we believe prices will go up further,” a source said.
Offers from Russia and Southeast Asia for billet to China have increased to $730/mt CFR China today. A deal from an Indonesian supplier at $720/mt CFR has been discussed in the market, but not confirmed. “We wish we had merchant billet now with such booming demand from China, but it has remained only for our rebar rolling, with nothing more for trading,” an Omani seller said.
For now, the tradable level for import billet has been settled at $710-720/mt CFR, up by $5-10/mt from May 6.
But demand for ex-CIS billet from other markets apart from China has also started to increase. “Latin America is very active [in looking for billets]. It will also support FOB prices,” one of the billet sellers said. The tradable price level to this destination has been assessed at $645/mt FOB or slightly above.
The import market in Turkey has also improved with the workable price level for ex-CIS billet up to $665/mt CFR, translating to $640-645/mt FOB. “If rebar prices gain further, it is possible that import billet prices will reach $680/mt CFR next week,” a source said.
Most large CIS-based exporters have been targeting $660/mt FOB in new offers. The SteelOrbis reference price for Black Sea billet, which reflects latest deals and real market levels, has gone up to $645-655/mt FOB with the midpoint at $650/mt FOB, up by $7.5/mt over the day and $35/mt over the past week.