Iranian steel mill Khouzestan Steel Company is reported to have floated an export tender for 40,000-50,000 mt of steel billet. The material is destined to be delivered at the end of August. Concurrently, the company has offered a cargo of 40,000-50,00 mt of steel slab, also for delivery at the end of August. The deadline for bids is Monday, June 20.
Overall, the situation regarding Iranian steel exports is ambiguous, with the continuing mismatch between offers and bids. In particular, earlier this week another Iran-based billet mill was seeking to get $565/mt FOB in its billet tender, while the bids were voiced at $540/mt FOB at the highest. Consequently, the tender in question was cancelled, with the supplier opting to watch market developments closely.
Given the ongoing absence of trading, SteelOrbis’ price assessment for ex-Iran steel billet has remained at $540-550/mt FOB, stable compared to the previous week.
Given the current levels of ex-Iran billet offers from traders, the latter expect to sign deals at the low end of the abovementioned range or even below. Specifically, this week ex-Iran billet offers from traders in Turkey have been heard at $560-565/mt delivered, while in the GCC region ex-Iran billet is said to be available at $575/mt CFR.