Billet
Billet surged upward
during last week in Iran and made market confused. Domestic billet size 150 mm improved
by USD 44.5 /mt to USD 513 .mt ex- work including 9% VAT. The reason behind
such a rise was not clear. Some market participants believed mills policy is
behind these moves and some others relate it to limited scrap supply level. Besides,
exchange rate also increased. Iran billet export offer also improved by USD20-30/mt
to USD450/mt fob and long products were also upward by USD 5-10 /mt per day
during first half of last week in Iran. But billet price rise level was faster
than debar.
Anyway, such a fast
rise in billet price made buyers moved back. It should be mentioned that any
price correction won’t be more than USD 13 /mt for billet as DRI limited supply
level and upward billet export level won’t let prices drop much.
By last Wednesday
some billet sellers offered by USD 8 /mt decline in prices. Besides, they almost
stopped DRI purchases to make market balanced.
Long
Products
Long products were
upward. Debar diameter 14-25 started the week at USD 532 /mt ex-work Ahwaz and
USD 539.5 /mt ex-work Esfahan including 9% VAT but there was no offer for
I-beam. I-beam size 16 was in shortage and this problem extended to size 18 by
Sunday.
Debar price
experienced USD 5-8 /mt upward trend per day till Monday and by Tuesday this
surge rose to USD 18 /mt . By Wednesday buyers were almost out of market due to
sudden rises in prices. Some mills increased discount levels. Khorasan Steel co
was the real winner last week as was offering with competitive prices and sold
more. Khorasan Steel co debar diameter
14-25 mm was averagely USD 550 /mt by Wednesday and reached USD 542 /mt by
Thursday. Esfahan and Ahwaz origin debar also were offered with USD 8 /mt
discount.
Actually Iran long products market is facing with a bubble which need to be
burst, to be ready for new rises in prices. Some insiders expect up to USD 26
/mt decline for debar price in coming weeks.
Debar dia 14-25 mm finished the week at USD 560.5 /mt ex-work Esfahan and
USD 558 /mt ex-work Ahwaz. There was no clear price available for I-beam,
market participants expect I-beam size 14-18 reach USD 786 /mt ex-work Esfahan.
Flat
Products
Import origin HRC 2
mm thickness was USD 707 /mt on truck including VAT and custom duties last
Saturday in Iran. By Tuesday price was surged upward to USD 749 /mt, then moved
back by USD 5 /mt on Wednesday and stayed unchanged. Limited availability of
CIS origin HRC has made prices upward. Besides domestic pipe and profile
producers are trying to pressure Mobarakeh Steel co to rise domestic supply
level. Higher domestic prices would have made import inquiries increase. More
than of half of these inquiries won’t finish in deals but has made market
sentiment upward and let foreign sellers increase prices. Ex-rate rise also
affected HRC market directly. Domestic products of Mobarakeh Steel co for sizes
2.5-15 mm was upward last week and by Tuesday onward market became calmer.
Market participants were expecting higher slab price at IME but it didn’t happen
as Mobarakeh Steel co slab stayed unchanged and Khouzestan Steel co slab
dropped. This made HRC market stable by second half of the week.
In HRP market, Oxin
co product improved by almost USD 26 /mt till Tuesday then corrected downward.
It was USD 602 /mt by Saturday and finished the week at USD 621 /mt after reaching
USD 629 /mt ex-work including VAT. Kavian co HRP improved by USD 13 /mt to USD 608
/mt ex-work including VAT. Mobarakeh Steel co product size 3-15 mm also
experienced some fluctuations and finally finished the week USD 3 /mt lower
than Saturday at USD 629 /mt.
CRC
market started the week upward like other flat products. Price level was not
clear and fixed, some sellers increased price by up to USD 26 /mt higher than a
week ago. Meanwhile buyers stayed back and purchased just for immediate needs.
Upward trend continued till middle of the week when Mobaraleh Steel co CRC
price at IME stayed unchanged, retail market also stopped improving. Import
supply level is still limited and higher ex-rate has made importers upward
trend logical. Market is expected to stay stable in coming days.
HDG
market followed CRC market trend, upward from Saturday till Tuesday and stayed
unchanged till end of the week.
Ex-rate:
In free market: Rials 38,180 /1USD
07th
Aug 2017
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Iran
Steel Service Center
IFNAA
News &
Analysis
http://www.ifnaa.ir/en/hom