An increase in buying activity in Asia (in particular in China), the main destination for ex-Iran material, has encouraged Iranian steel billet exporters to seek higher prices in bookings. While some producers have opted to book now at the current acceptable levels, others have preferred to wait for prices to go up further.
Specifically, this week under the terms of export tenders a major Iranian producer has sold three cargoes of steel billet, 40,000 mt each, at $553/mt FOB BIK, for shipment at the end of February. The destination has not been specified by the time of publication, but most probably the material is destined to be shipped to Asia. Given freight assessed at $60/mt, the CFR price would be at around $615/mt CFR excluding the trader’s margin, which is quite attractive compared to the prices in the latest non-Iranian billet bookings in Asia. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, the latest sale to China was at $640/mt CFR, while new offers have been at $650/mt CFR minimum. Prices in Southeast Asia, in turn, have reached $635-640/mt CFR.
In the meantime, another leading Iranian billet producer has decided to take its time, declining firm bids at $550/mt FOB BIK and below, expecting prices to strengthen further. The producer has floated an export tender with a deadline of January 24 for 20,000 mt of steel billet, according to the representative of the company.
By the end of the previous week, a tender for 30,000 mt of steel billet, for February shipment, was closed at $554.78/mt FOB. The producer was not available for comment by the time of publication. “I hazard a guess that this price is not for a standard grade, but rather is for a modified one, with higher Mn content, or for a stainless steel grade,” an Iranian source stated.
On balance, taking into consideration recent trading, the SteelOrbis reference price for export billet in Iran has been settled at $550-555/mt FOB, compared to $540-550/mt FOB valid a week ago.