Reuters reported that unrest in Egypt has hit construction steel prices with spot rebar in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah now at USD 640 per tonne to USD 650 per tonne as Black Sea mills seek new markets away from the turmoil.
Mr Shukhrat Nishanov GD of Hamriyah said that “It is influencing the market. If that market was traditionally supplied by our colleagues in Turkey and Ukraine, well, they can't sell there so they are going to the Saudi market and this is disrupting our business."
Mr Nishanov said that Metalloinvest's Hamriyah, the only Russian owned steel plant in the United Arab Emirates sold its January rebar production for USD 700 per tonne roughly 8% above the current spot range.
He said that the company, which is also Russia's largest iron miner, opened its steel plant in the UAE last year to tap into the Middle Eastern construction boom. It currently produces 80,000 tonnes of rebar per month or 1 million tonnes per year. This can be ramped up slightly to about 1.2 million tonnes if demand increases.
Metalloinvest, controlled by billionaire Mr Alisher Usmanov may also add a second mill later in the decade, though it has yet to take a final decision. It already operates two major steel plants in Russia.
Mr Nishanov said that Hamriyah does not sell any steel directly to Egyptian buyers. He said “We export 30% to Saudi Arabia, 20% to Iraq and our trading partners sell to other buyers in the Persian Gulf and 10% to 15% is sold to local firms.”
He does not expect the Egyptian market to revive until there is more certainty about the country's future political course
(Source: www.steelguru.com )