Long products market is emanating contradictory signals.
On one hand billet prices have taken a severe beating of nearly USD 70 per tonne touching USD 630 per tonne to USD 640 per tonne from USD 700 per tonne CFR FO of Black Sea origin.
At the same time scrap market is showing faint signs of revival with new rounds of buying reported from Turkish mills.
In finished products viz, Debars and WRC the scenario continues to be gloomy with the added predicament of levels showing imbalance between semis and finished product prices. With the WRC prices struggling at around EUR 470 to 480 per tonneEXW, whereas billets are available at EUR 460 per tonne CFR FO.
In a demand strapped market domestic producers have drastically curtailed production by working only 2 days a week with some shifts during Saturday and Sunday (because of lower electricity tariff) attempting align availability with demand.
The current unrest in MENA nations has made the suppliers from Italy and Spain skeptical by creating surplus export availability.
(Source: www.steelguru.com )