Billet buyers in the GCC still prefer to restock with billet of local origins, taking into account the high freight rates for deliveries from distant suppliers. A few medium-sized lots have been booked to the UAE from neighboring countries, while negotiations are continuing. Moreover, GCC-based billet producers have taken an advantage of the positive market in Asia and accelerated their billet exports.
According to sources, around 40,000 mt in total were sold last week from Bahrain to the UAE at $580-590/mt CPT. Some deals are expected to be closed from Saudi Arabia, while offers are at $595/mt CPT, SteelOrbis has learned. In the meantime, offers from Oman to the UAE have been reported at $615/mt CPT, while buyers consider discounts down to $605-610/mt CPT to be quite possible. Ready lots of ex-Iran billet, according to sources, are available in the market at $590-600/mt CPT. Import offers from the CIS are not considered to be workable because with the current freight rates the prices are estimated at $630-640/mt CFR UAE and above.
In the export segment, the GCC-based billet sellers have been seeking to take advantage of the favorable market in Asia. According to sources, in the second half of March a Bahraini supplier sold a large cargo at $570/mt FOB, while today bids are reported at $600/mt FOB and slightly above. “Bids are at $650/mt CFR [China], but we don’t have billet to sell in April and May generally speaking,” an Omani mill said.