Iran: Billet export offers fall marginally, market quiet on holidays

Iranian billet export prices fell marginally in a recent deal. Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO), one of Iran’s leading steel exporters, sold 30,000 tonne (t) of billets to China through an export tender, SteelMint learned from sources. The company concluded the tender at $640/t, FoB Iran, for Aug’21 shipments.

On the other hand, other mills remained silent, and in a wait-and-watch mode amid the Iranian national holidays and volatile Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rebar futures. According to data maintained with SteelMint, on 3 June’21, the SHFE rebar futures settled with a rise of RMB 146/t on a day-on-day (d-o-d) basis at RMB 5,148/t.

Meanwhile, Iran’s leading steel exporter, Khouzestan Steel Company (KSC), floated export tenders for 60,000 t of billets and slabs (30,000 t each), as per SteelMint reports. According to sources, the company concluded the slab tender at $750/t FoB Iran for end-Aug’21 shipments, while the billet tender is under negotiation.

Last published on 1 June’21, SteelMint’s bi-weekly assessment for Iranian billets stands at $640/t FoB, down by $5 week-on-week (w-o-w).

On the other hand, trading was at a low ebb on the Iranian Mercantile Exchange (IME) . An Iranian source highlighted that thanks to the Iranian national holidays, mills kept away from the domestic market.

Iran’s semis exports up 35% on year in the first month of Islamic year: Iran’s steel exports, including semi-finished and finished steel products, during the first month of the Iranian new year (20 Mar ’21 – 20 Apr ’21) stood at 831,000 t, recent data released by the Iranian Steel Producers Association shows.

• Semi-finished steel exports were recorded at 566,000 t, up 35% y-o-y, with billet/blooms occupying the largest share.
• Exports of finished steel products jumped 215% y-o-y to 265,000 t.
• DRI exports rose sharply by 250% to 70,000t.

On the other hand, the country’s finished steel production stood at 1.74 mn t, up by 20% y-o-y, recent data accessed by SteelMint shows.

• Finished long steel production jumped by 42% y-o-y to 939,000 t, while flat steel production was recorded at 810,000 t, up by 1% y-o-y.
• Mobarakeh Steel Company retained its position as the leading steel producer with 718,900 t of finished steel production.