Billet
Average billet price was USD 350/mt ex-work
including 9% VAT on last Saturday, but negative atmosphere of the market
lowered it to USD 335/mt on Sunday. On Monday, sellers were back and till end
of the week price rose to USD 353/mt. Government's efforts for steady supply
and lowering billet price worked out with rebar supply pressure, but what was
most helpful for billet market was the closure of market operations due to Coronavirus.
Due to the coming New Iranian Year holidays,
trading will virtually stop in coming days. With restricted demand and falling
exports, things can happen that are unpredictable.
Long Products
Average price of rebar on last Saturday was USD 435/mt,
which fell to USD 413/mt on Wednesday. Government pressure to cut prices and year-end
conditions made prices lower. But main reason was worries about Coronavirus and
lower working hours of banks which has made transactions level more limited. At
the end of the week we saw that many mills were experiencing a shortage of billet,
followed by a decline in output. Besides, Coronavirus concerns has made many truck
drivers worried and preferring staying home, therefore transportation of steel
goods is facing with some problems too.
Unlike rebar, I-beam had a relative stable price.
The average price on Saturday was USD 466 /mt for sizes 14 ,16 and 18 in Esfahan
market on Monday, but fell to USD 453/mt on Monday. Prices returned to USD 473/mt
till end of the week. Price management by Esfahan Steel co and supply of I-beam
by the mill made prices stable.
Flat Products
HRC 2 mm thickness was announced last Saturday in Esfahan at
USD 641-647/mt ex-work including 9% VAT and was USD 634 /mt in Ahwaz market but
with government pressure and more importantly, worries about Coronavirus prices
slipped and until Wednesday prices in Esfahan reached USD 561/mt and in Ahwaz was
USD 528/mt. HRC thickness 3 to 15 mm was USD 729/mt on Saturday but dropped to USD
707/mt by the end of the week. This pattern was also seen for Oxin Co HRP
thickness 10 -40 mm. By Saturday it was USD 762/mt and reached USD 722/mt by
Wednesday. Early market shutdowns due to Coronavirus and worries about what the
steel market will face in the coming months have contributed to this downward
trend.
CRC was priced at USD 1079/mt on average on last Saturday
but fell to USD 975/mt by Wednesday. HDG price was reduced from USD 974/mt to USD
940/mt. While the government is trying to increase supply level at IME (Iran
Mercantile Exchange), the gap between the volume of supply and the demand shows
that the demand is downward.
Whatever policy the government adopts is considered
a secondary factor, the market outlook is more concerned about Coronavirus, and
talk of supply and demand will be meaningless until the concern is resolved
because coming months’ market trend is unclear.
CBI weekly average ex-rate for Steel Products
(SANA): Rials 151,367 / 1USD
09 Mar 2020