Billet
Billet prices
rose last week from USD 401/mt on Saturday to USD 430/mt ex-work including 9%
VAT on Wednesday. The reason for the increase in billet price remains the issue
of DRI supply shortage and its base price was up to USD 243/mt till Wednesday.
It is said that the second production line of Gol-e-Gohar Mining co will start
supplying in coming days and this will increase DRI supply. Besides,
at IME, prices were upward, therefore market participants were expecting retail
prices to stay upward.
Most market participants
are not satisfied with the current billet price because rebar price is reaching
around USD 485 /mt, while at the current prices there is also no buying
interest. On the other hand, these prices put a heavy pressure on the
producers' liquidity, which have reduced their production capacity. This upward
trend has made many steel traders worried and prefer waiting.
Long Products
Rebar price was up sharply last
week. The average price rose from USD 434/mt on Saturday, to USD 475/mt ex-work
including 9% VAT by the weekend. The reason for
this increase was higher billet price and its supply restriction by some mills.
Many traders prefer waiting and do not buy at current level. Many believe that
cheap purchased inventories will lead to some price corrections.
Average price of I-beam sizes 14,16
and 18 was USD 526/mt on Saturday then reached USD 533/mt ex-work
including VAT by the weekend. Current offer
prices of Esfahan Steel co at IME shows that downward trend for I-beam price
seems unlikely.
Flat Products
Last Saturday
HRC 2 mm Thickness was offered at USD 598 /mt ex-work Esfahan and USD 566/mt
ex-work Ahwaz but by Wednesday in Isfahan reached USD 623/mt and in Ahwaz was
USD 590 /mt. The reason behind price increase was inflationary expectations and
also higher slab price due to billet price increase. On the other hand, the
conversion cost at Ahwaz Rolling and Pipe co has reached around USD 97/mt,
therefore, if billet price rises, HRC would be upward too.
Price of HRC
thickness 3 to 15 mm increased from USD 655/mt on Saturday to USD 700 /mt by
Wednesday. Part of this price increase was due to Mobarakeh Steel co behavior
as offered at a base price higher than previous week, which caused prices to
rise at IME. This has made buyers
hopeful that they can expect prices to rise from April onwards.
Oxin Co HRP
price continued its upward trend. The average price on Saturday for thicknesses
of 10 to 40 mm, which was USD 662/mt, increased to USD 699/mt on Wednesday.
CRC started last
week at USD 869/mt and reached USD 929/mt by Wednesday. CRC supply level is
very limited, while its demand has also fallen due to higher prices.
HDG experienced
upward trend like other steel products. The average price rose from USD 804/mt
to USD848/mt. Higher HRC price as a raw material made HDG market upward.
CBI weekly average ex-rate for
Steel Products (SANA): Rials 123.646 / 1USD
10 Feb 2020