It is observed that CIS-based billet exporters, which are receiving weak demand from the international markets, have kept their export prices stable week on week at $510-515/mt FOB. Meanwhile, CIS-based billet suppliers have focused on their domestic market due to higher demand as purchases in the local CIS billet market have accelerated with the influence of seasonal conditions. This has been influential on the sideways movement of ex-CIS billet prices despite the declines seen in global scrap quotations as well as the weakness of demand.
Ex-CIS billet offers to Turkey and Egypt are currently at $520-530/mt CFR and $530-535/mt CFR, respectively, while demand for ex-CIS billet in these countries are still weak. According to market sources, billet and long steel demand in Egypt is characterized with an overall weakness due to summer season. Meanwhile, billet purchases in Turkey are reportedly made only in line with immediate needs against the backdrop of the fluctuating Turkish lira-US dollar exchange rate and also due to weak long steel demand received by Turkish mills.