Reuters reported that rising prices of steelmaking ingredients scrap and iron ore continued to buoy steel billet prices in the Black Sea region this week, but tonnages have dropped as trading thinned due to holidays.
Black Sea FOB billet was quoted between USD 415 per tonne to USD 420 per tonne, unchanged from last week. Some traders said that more deals were clinched around USD 410 per tonne to USD 415 per tonne while mills offered at above USD 420 per tonne.
As per report, scrap prices also remained firm at about USD 315 per tonne to USD 320 per tonne in the Turkish market, a major importer of the key steelmaking ingredient.
A UK based steel trader said that "Iron ore, scrap are the main driving forces behind the billet price. But I believe the billet price is still a bit too high. The mills are not selling a lot of tonnage, they're offering but not getting the deals they'd like."