Sentiment among Iranian semi-finished steel exporters has been relatively positive as the outlook for the trend in China after the holiday is mainly optimistic. The main Iranian mill Khouzestan Steel Company has opened two tenders for 40,000-50,000 mt each of both billets and slabs, and the results of the auctions are expected by the end of this week, SteelOrbis has learned.
As regards billet exports from Iran, the latest deal has been reported for a relatively small tonnage of 10,000 mt at $638.5/mt FOB, up by $2/mt from the contract done a week ago. With the freight costs assessed at about $60/mt, this price corresponds to $698-699/mt CFR Asia. If China comes back from the holiday in a positive mood as expected, prices may keep going up and break the $640/mt FOB mark, sources believe.
The previous tenders for ex-Iran slabs were at $678/mt FOB and slightly above $680/mt FOB, but they were done more than 10 days ago. After that, the price levels in the spot market in Asia fell further. Accordingly, it is expected to be more challenging to achieve higher prices for slabs in new tenders. In any case, prices will definitely be above $660-670/mt FOB Bandar Abbas which is seen now as the tradable level, according to trading sources.