The situation in the CIS billet market has not changed much this week even despite some slight improvement in scrap prices in Turkey. Still limited trading activity and low bids in the main sales destinations for CIS-based exporters have put pressure on sentiments. SteelOrbis reference prices for ex-CIS billet are at $365-370/mt FOB, $2.5/mt lower than last week.
Offers from mills for December production billet are still at $370-380/mt FOB, but the workable level has not exceeded $365/mt FOB, sources said. “This is not about the scrap price, this is about rebar and wire rod prices and demand on for them,” a trader said, commenting on the slow buying activity for ex-CIS billets in Turkey. Offers for ex-CIS billet are still at $385-400/mt CFR Turkey, while bids are still below $380/mt CFR ($365/mt FOB).
A deal for a small tonnage to Algeria has been done at $365/mt FOB, traders said. The transaction level is in line with the previous bookings to Africa in late October. Overall demand in North Africa has been limited partly because of the almost complete absence of interest from Egypt.
Offers from the Black Sea region are still uncompetitive in the Asian market, at at least $410-420/mt CFR and higher. As a result, sales have been made mostly from Russia’s Far East. The latest deal to the Philippines has been concluded at $405/mt CFR (about $385-388/mt FOB Russian Far Eastern port).