Billet
Iran domestic billet
market had a downward trend
during last week due to stagnation of long products market and the continuation
of speculations. Its average price ended the week at USD 493/mt
ex-work including VAT compared to average of USD 498/mt a week ago.
Long Products
Rebar price was downward from USD 576/mt to
USD 574/mt. Two factors affecting
this trend more were very weak demand and downward trend in billet market which market participants believe
it will continue.
I-beam market was downward due to market
concerns from USD 657/mt to USD 654/mt ex-work including VAT. Price return or
market improvement requires conditions that may not be provided in the coming
weeks.
Flat Products
Mobarakeh steel co HRC 2 mm thickness was USD 747/mt on Saturday, which reached USD 761 /mt ex-work by Wednesday.
Oxin co HRP dropped
from USD 877/mt to USD 871/mt by end of the week. It seems that price is near
the bottom.
CRC market had a
limited fluctuation due to lack of demand and market depression. It was around
USD 1041/mt during the week and changed to USD 1045/mt by Wednesday.
HDG had a quiet market with no
significant change at USD 1044-1049/mt. Recession is the
main cause of price stability.
Weekly Analysis:
It seems that by beginning of next year, Chinese
market will improve with the removal of Covid restrictions and the government's
plan for property market. But global economic conditions do not show signs of improvement.
Establishing a bottom price ceiling for Russian oil and gas will cause
fluctuations in the oil market because consumers will try to buy their oil
close to this price from the world markets. Of course, if OPEC+ does not decide
to reduce production, the oil market will go down. Therefore, all these factors
had made steel demand cautious. Winter seasonal weakness, along with the
recession, reduces steel demand and brings the prices close to their bottom.
There is no demand for steel in Iran, and on
the other hand, the psychological atmosphere of the market is negative and worried
about social and transportation issues. All these factors have caused the stock
market to remain without buyers. The stock market continues
to work knowing that its prices are about eight to ten percent higher than the
market and has no plans to change the pricing system.
DRI supply level at the moment is not
consistent with billet and rebar at IME. Recently, DRI supply has been very
limited and will probably continue due to gas shortages in winter. In contrast
to supply of 70,000 tons of DRI, 200,000 tons of billet and 300,000 tons of
rebar are being offered. The question is, is there a balance among these
supplies?
CBI weekly average ex-rate for Steel
Products (SANA): Rials 281,202/ 1USD
05 Dec 2022
M.Chitsaz
Iran Steel News Bulletin
IFNAA.IR
IRSTEEL.COM