Billet prices as well as the general market sentiment have improved in the UAE over the past week, amid livelier business for longs products. The workable price levels for both rebar and wire rod have increased and Emirates Steel Arkan has given a positive signal to the market. Therefore, billet pricing has also received some support.
The latest domestic workable prices for rebar in the UAE have been reported at $650/mt CPT LC 90 days and are expected to climb further. In the export segment, according to sources, the UAE and Qatar sold 50,000 mt and 30,000 mt of rebar to Singapore, respectively, both at around $610/mt FOB on theoretical weight basis.
In the wire rod segment, similar $650/mt levels are considered acceptable for both local and export buyers, although domestic levels may soon add $15-20/mt, sellers say.
In this situation, ex-Iran billet offers are back to $580-590/mt CPT, although, according to sources, one of the sellers is still offering at around $550/mt CFR, which is around $565-570/mt CPT.
The domestic billet price in the UAE is at $600/mt ex-works, up by $40/mt over the past two weeks. In the meantime, ex-Oman billet prices have been reported at $610/mt CPT, up $30-35/mt over the same period. GCC-based suppliers are quite interested in billet exports. In fact, a 25,000 mt billet lot was booked from Qatar at $610/mt CFR Manila. However, given freight around $30-35/mt, the level is considered as being on the low side. In fact, some other billet sellers from the GCC are aiming to sell for export at a minimum of $610-620/mt FOB, including the Asian and Turkish markets.