Billet
Billet market sentiment was negative during
last week in Iran but by end of the week higher ex-rate made prices up. Its
average price declined from USD 487/mt to USD 485 /mt and then improved to USD 486/mt
ex-work including VAT.
Long Products
Rebar price was stable at around USD 552 /mt.
Higher ex-rate slightly increased prices. Rebar price has
reached its bottom according to the average price of billet, and any lower
price may stop production.
Esfahan Steel co market management made
I-beam price almost stable. Its average price changed from USD 647/mt to USD 642/mt.
Flat Products
Mobarakeh steel co
HRC 2 mm thickness was USD 706/mt on Saturday, which reached USD 727
/mt ex-work by Wednesday. Flat products market was generally calm. On Tuesday, news of the
stoppage of a trader shocked the market. Some market
participants, worried that this will happen again in the future, stopped
trading, and the market stopped. With the increase in currency rate, prices did
not fall.
Oxin co market management made HRP almost
unchanged at USD 872/mt.
CRC price was around USD 998/mt during the
week as limited supply helped the market. By Wednesday price improved to USD 1013/mt.
HDG price changed from USD 930/mt to USD 937/mt
as higher ex-rate didn’t let prices decline.
Weekly Analysis:
China market confidence is improving, priority of economic
issues to Covid policies is the main reason for this. But last week, drop in
demand lowered price of billet and slab in global markets.
In Iran, prices have reached the bottom and more
drops will lead to the closure of production lines. Steel producers spent first
6 months of the year badly and have hope for remaining months of the current
Iranian Year. Global steel demand is not in a good condition; this can worsen
the production situation inside Iran too.
The recent decision of Administrative Justice Court says purchase and export
of steel is free for everyone. It also says that "domestic mills are not
required to prioritize domestic demand over export," so the rules of the
commodity exchange regarding priority of supply to the domestic market and
export of surplus products will be lost. Maybe this vote
is a problem for some people, but in a period of three months, it will cause a
sharp increase in export and will shake the stagnant domestic market, which is
severely suffering from weak demand. But the most important issue of this vote
is its impact on raw materials.
In the event of implementation of this decision,
that is, the single rate currency and liberalization of exports,
large mills will only engage in export, and small mills, many of which are
working with reduced capacity or are closed, will focus on the domestic market,
and the market will be balanced.
CBI weekly average ex-rate for Steel
Products (SANA): Rials 286,102/ 1USD
07 Nov 2022
M.Chitsaz
Iran Steel News Bulletin
IFNAA.IR
IRSTEEL.COM