US billet market steady in August

The overall billet market in the US has remained steady in August from July as prices have not undergone any major changes when compared to a month ago.

US billet prices remain in the range of $395 to $405 /nt ($435 to $446 /mt) delivered to customer plant. As the US long product demand is still relatively weak, many re-rollers do not expect billet prices to increase next month, either.

However, the tight US scrap market may push domestic scrap prices up further in September, and with billet prices usually following the scrap pricing trend, it is possible that billet prices may increase slightly next month. Moreover, with the scarce scrap supply, some distributors believe that domestic mills may turn to billet purchases instead, which could also result in a September price increase for US billets. Lastly, the international billet markets are on the rise, which could also lead to higher US billet prices.

The total amount of billet imports into the US in July 2009 was 6,663 mt, representing a decrease of 3,437 mt from June. The main countries that exported billet to the US during July were Mexico, at 4,641 mt and Canada, at 2,022 mt.

Internationally, CIS billet export offers have increased approximately $50/mt from a month ago to the level of $430 to $450/mt FOB, with Ukranian mills reporting a strong demand from the far East. Local Turkish billet offers are also up strongly from a month ago, also rising by about $50/mt during this time period, to a current range of $460 to $480/mt ex-works, excluding VAT and on an actual weight basis.