Domestic rebar prices in Russia have continued to trend down since the mills have been forced to provide some additional discounts as compared to two weeks ago. The key reasons are subdued demand, the absence of export activity, and the lack of equilibrium between billet export prices and rebar prices.
According to sources, rebar prices in the southern part of Russia have dropped by $10/mt (RUB 2,000/mt) to $685/mt (RUB 60,000/mt) ex-works. Similar levels are officially offered in the central region of the country, although market sources say that some producers have started to agree to sell at $640-650/mt (RUB 56,000-57,000/mt) ex-works levels. “The problem is the export billet. Considering billet prices, the rebar export prices should be $485/mt with no VAT, it means around RUB 43,000/mt, indicating a huge gap between export and local prices. In the meantime, Russian mills need to sell and to fill their order books,” a source told SteelOrbis.
As regards exports, there are still hardly any offers for rebar, while wire rods are officially at $800/mt FOB. However, bids are at around $760/mt FOB, and so no sales have been reported yet.
