Billet
Last week billet market downward trend
continued. On Saturday, the average price was USD 318 /mt and reached USD 311/mt
ex-work including 9% VAT by the weekend. Only on Sunday, the market saw an
increase in the average price to around USD 323/mt, which was due to the supply
of Khuzestan steel billets with a letter of credit. The request for more than
120 thousand tons of billet of Khuzestan Steel co indicates a problem of
liquidity in the market because in the previous weeks when the supply was only
by cash, the demand was not more than 70 thousand tons. This is something that
IME authorities should pay attention to, if sellers of billet offer with the
possibility of delayed payments, the production level would improve for some
months.
At IME , also price trend was downward.
On Saturday, Arfaa Steel co billet sale price was USD 298 /mt ex-work excluding
VAT, but on Wednesday, Chadormalu's product was sold at USD 294/mt excluding
VAT.
At the moment steel mills are preparing
their tax returns and hot weather has also affected the production level.
Therefore, billet price may stay unchanged in the coming days.
Long Products
The average price of debar, which on
Saturday was USD 367/mt, fell to USD 362/mt ex-work including 9% VAT on Wednesday.
I-beam price was almost stable despite debar price trend.
Average price of Esfahan Steel co I-beam
sizes 14 to 18 improved a little from USD 361.8/mt on Saturday to USD 362.1/mt
on Wednesday.
Long products market is very sensitive and
any decision can affect it, but it is certain that further price cuts seems
unlikely. For coming days any especial improvement in prices seems unlikely
unless ex-rate change significantly.
Flat Products
HRC 2 mm thickness price on Saturday was USD
489/mt ex-work Isfahan, reaching USD 471/mt by end of the week. Price of Ahwaz Rolling
and Pipe co HRC was USD 463/mt by beginning of the week and reached USD 450/mt
by end of the week. HRC thickness 3 to 5 mm is facing with severe supply
restrictions, but average price for the thickness of 6 to 15 mm, which on
Saturday was USD 495/mt reached USD 489/mt on Wednesday.
Oxin co HRP thickness 10- 40 mm was
facing with scarce demand, which led to incredible low prices for some cargoes.
Average price on Saturday was USD 467/mt then decreased to USD 453 /mt. This
price is not profitable at all. Kavian co HRP thickness 12-25 mm also experienced
downward trend as price dropped from USD 459/mt to USD 441/mt .
CRC price was downward like other steel
products. The average price for 0.40 to 2 mm thickness, which was USD 638/mt on
Saturday, reached USD 625/mt on Wednesday. Demand for this product is still
limited, and with summer holidays of many of its consumers, demand level will
continue declining.
HDG market was also faced with downward
trend. Average price of thickness 0.41 to 1.5 mm, which was USD 734 /mt on Saturday,
finished the week at USD 713/mt. Regardless of the demand issue, the lower
ex-rate led to a decrease in the price of zinc and therefore a decline in HDG
price.
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CBI
weekly average ex-rate for Steel Products (SANA): 116.631 Rials / 1USD
22
July, 2019
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Iran
Steel News Bulletin