Quiet demand for CIS billet exports

According to market sources, ex-CIS billet offers have decreased by $10/mt over the past week to $340-345/mt CFR. Turkish buyers are not so interested in buying billet from the CIS due to their purchases of low-priced Chinese billet and also given the declines in import scrap prices. No new ex-CIS billet deal in Turkey has been heard during the past week, while demand for CIS billet is weak in the country. Market sources state that it is still difficult for CIS-based exporters to conclude transactions in Turkey and the Middle Eastern countries due to the ongoing month of Ramadan. Meanwhile, Chinese billet export offers have decreased further by $5/mt over the past week to $320-325/mt CFR Turkey and are still more attractive than ex-CIS billet offers.