Billet
Billet had a stagnant market last week
due to two factors:
First, closure of foreign markets due to
New Year Holidays.
Second, long products market downward
trend.
For this reason, Khuzestan Steel co on
Wednesday offered billet with payment of letter of credit. The selling price of
Khuzestan steel co at IME was USD 365 /mt ex-work excluding VAT, while on the
same day, Esfahan Steel co billet price
was USD 356/mt 3% lower than Khuzestan Steel co and Khorasan steel product
offer was USD 347 /mt, 5% lower . As a result, average billet price which was
USD 375/mt on Saturday, became USD 383/mt on Wednesday.
If
Khuzestan Steel did not offer by LC payment, the base price would remain in the
range of USD 367 /mt. Hopes about stable billet price till end of current
Iranian year is questionable because the supply problem of DRI has not been
resolved, as well as the problem of scrap supply caused by cold weather and lower
construction activities. Some large mills which have their own DRI production
lines are in maintenance and they have turned to the retail market to buy DRI to
meet their needs.
Long
Products
The average price of rebar on Saturday last
week was USD 411/mt ex-work including 9% VAT, which by Tuesday reached USD 413/mt
, but on Wednesday rose to USD 419/mt, while the price increase was due to the
increase in billet price and on the other hand there is hope for rising prices
after the January holidays and the opening of world markets. Rebar price is
rising due to billet higher price not market improvement.
I- beam price was upward, while its supply
was limited, especially for the size 14. The average price on Saturday was USD 467/mt,
which reached USD 496 /mt by end of the
week. The supply of this product is heavily being controlled in the market, so
expecting price drop seems unlikely.
Flat
Products
Price of 2 mm thickness HRC was USD 563/mt ex-work Esfahan on
Saturday and USD 538/mt in Ahwaz, which
reached USD 564/mt in Isfahan and USD 534/mt in Ahwaz by end of the week. HRC
of 3 to 15 mm thickness of Mobarkeh Steel co were priced at USD 618/mt and
reached USD 632/mt at the end of the week.
Oxin co HRP was priced at USD 592/mt on
Saturday, but climbed to USD 631/mt on Wednesday. But by Wednesday, many traders
became seller in the market and were offering with higher discounts, with prices likely to
range from USD 590 /mt to USD 598/mt In
coming weeks. Given the increase in the price of slab, the range of Oxin co HRP
price declines cannot be significant.
CRC price saw a sudden sharp surge last
week, one month ago selling price of Mobarakeh Steel co CRC was USD 512/mt,
while last Wednesday became USD 650/mt, which is a 22 % increase. The change
shocked the market price at once, and the average price of CRC, which was USD 734
/mt on Saturday, became above USD 769/mt on Wednesday. Many sellers worried
about falling prices, came to the market by Wednesday, which could help ease
the relative decline and stabilize the market this week.
HDG price was priced at USD 722/mt for 0.40-1.5 mm thickness on Saturday but reached USD
789 /mt on Wednesday due to the increase in HRC price.
CBI
weekly average ex-rate for Steel Products (SANA): Rials 117.006 / 1USD
06 Jan
2020
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Iran
Steel News Bulletin