Square billet prices in the GCC have increased a lot over the past couple of weeks, supported by the latest hike in rebar offer prices announced by Emirates Steel Industries, the leading rebar producer in the UAE.
According to sources, the current billet offers from Oman to the UAE are at $690-695/mt CPT, while last week a 10,000 mt deal was closed by a wire rod producer at $680/mt CPT, SteelOrbis has learned. Domestic billet offers in the Emirati market are at $690-700/mt CPT and similar levels have been heard in offers from Bahrain to the UAE. In Oman itself the offers billet have been at $695-700/mt CPT and a medium sized lot has been reportedly booked at $700/mt CPT. Export billet offers from Oman are at around $680/mt FOB for the rebar grade.
Still, the spread between rebar and billet in the country is not wide enough for decent margins. There are some hopes for better rebar demand in spring, but then again the Ramadan period in April may slow things down as it traditionally does.
Import offers from India are at $700/mt CFR, which is not quite workable. Purchases from the CIS are not considered logical in the market as the mills have been aiming for $680-690/mt FOB minimum in offers and freight rates are estimated at close to $45-50/mt. Offers from Iran are among the most competitive in the UAE, coming to around $650/mt CFR.
Overall, the billet prices in the UAE and Oman increased by around $30-50/mt over the month, depending on the origin.