Weak demand for ex-CIS billet

Following the decline of $10/mt recorded towards the end of last week, ex-CIS billet offers to the export markets indicated sideways movement at the beginning of the current week, while they have increased by $5/mt on the upper end today, November 24, to $380-395/mt FOB, with the influence of the upward trend of Chinese billet quotations as of November 22. Chinese billet offers are expected to continue their upward movement against the backdrop of the news that the Chinese government will implement production cuts in Tangshan between November 15, 2016, and March 15, 2017, in order to reduce air pollution. As a result, market sources believe that ex-CIS billet offers may also continue their increasing trend.
 
During the past week, trading activity in the Egyptian billet market has slowed down slightly due to the fluctuation of the Egyptian pound-US dollar exchange rate. In the same period, no new ex-CIS billet offer to Egypt has been heard.
 
In Turkey, where ex-CIS billet quotations are currently in the range of $390-405/mt CFR, uncertainty has prevailed in the billet market due to the ongoing depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar. As a result, Turkish buyers have mostly maintained a wait-and-see stance. While demand for ex-CIS billet has remained at low levels in Turkey, buyers' price inquiries for import billet have increased since last week but no new deal has been heard yet.