The American billet market has not improved compared to one month ago.
Rolling mills continue to suspend to purchase due to the sluggish finished product market and the current unstable market conditions.
Generally, American billet price always climb in line with increased scrap price. It’s said that billet price may rise to US$413~424/ton because America’s shredded scrap price had gone up US$44/ton during May; however, it’s doubtful that this price can be sustained because of weak demand.
Moreover, CIS’s steel mills offered US$370~380/ton for 3SP-5SP billet export price last week. The international billet price is starting to slide because the finished product demands of Middle Eastern and Turkish domestic markets remain slack. Source: Yieh.com