Ex-CIS billet prices have declined further by $5/mt on the lower end week on week and are currently at $485-510/mt FOB. Since CIS-based producers have more orders to meet due to increased billet and rebar demand in their domestic market, some of them have kept their prices stable during the past week, causing the upper end of the price range to remain unchanged.
Ex-CIS billet offers to Turkey are now in the range of $500-515/mt CFR, while SteelOrbis has been informed that a billet sale from Ukraine to Turkey has been concluded in the current week at $490/mt CFR. Meanwhile, ex-CIS billet offers to Egypt are currently at $510-530/mt CFR and demand for ex-CIS billet in the North African country is still weak. No improvement in demand for ex-CIS billet in Turkey and Egypt is expected in the short term due to the Feast of Sacrifice holiday which will last a full week starting from August 20.