Since the end of last week, the Iranian market has seen at least two billet export sales from two different mills. Both transactions have shown a price softening, given the not very supportive buyers’ side and the decline in ex-Russia billet prices, which is a related benchmark for Iran. In the meantime, some volumes of billet have been offered in the domestic market in Iran, which some sources interpret as a sign of insufficient export demand.
At the end of last week, according to one source, one of the key producers traded 30,000 mt of billet for export at $475/mt FOB for December shipments. In addition, another producer closed a 30,000 mt 3SP billet sale at $470/mt FOB for November shipment.
The first cargo will most probably be directed to the Asian market, where a slight rebound in China may support the workable prices for Iranian billet as well. The previous lowest offer price from China was at $505/mt CFR SEA, which is no longer available and the new offers may go up to $515-520/mt CFR.
The second deal will most likely result in further sales to the MENA region. In fact, some offers to the UAE have been reported at $500-505/mt CFR from Iran or around $515/mt CPT, while the domestic offers have dropped by $10-20/mt over the past week to $520-530/mt ex-works UAE. Others report that the workable ex-Iran price to the UAE should be around $485-490/mt CFR Jebel Ali. In addition, an ex-Iran offer to Jordan is at around $535/mt CFR, while Saudi Arabia has been offering to the same market at close to $520/mt CFR.
All in all, the SteelOrbis weekly reference price for ex-Iran billet is now settled at $470-475/mt FOB, down from the deals closed previously at $477-478/mt FOB. The Iranian prices are moving more or less in line with the Russian workable levels, which have dropped by $5-10/mt over the past week to $460-475/mt FOB.
In the domestic market, according to sources, some of the key mills have increased their offering through the stock exchange. The latest reported price stands at IRR 19,200/kg which translates to around $468/mt according to the $1 = IRR 42,200 rate. Some mills have put up to 60,000 mt of billet on sale, sources report.