Black Sea steel billet export prices rose this week as
Iranian and other buyers went back to the market to restock after Ramadan and
the summer break.
Black Sea billet traded at $680-685/MT free-on-board (fob) Russia
and Ukraine, compared with $670-680 ten days ago. Turkish billet was at $695-705
fob from $690-700/MT at the end of last month.
“Most European and Middle Eastern buyers are still
feeling their way after Ramadan and the summer break but Iran has
gone absolutely metal,” said a London-based billet trader.
“If it lasts a few months I think it will easily breach
$700 fob (Russian and Ukraine),” he added.
Production disruption at some Russian and Ukrainian mills
have tightened the market a bit in the last few months meaning Iranian buyers
still have to purchase large volumes of billet.
On the London Metal Exchange, the benchmark billet contract
was last traded at $601 a tonne, from a close at $585 a tonne last Wednesday.
“All material is going out of LME warehouses as the
differential between physical prices and the LME price is so big that it makes
sense for people to take material out, irrespective of where it is,” said
a third billet trader.
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