<span>The situation in the CIS export market for finished longs has improved slightly. Suppliers from Azov-Black Sea ports have managed to raise sales, and some of them even to increase prices. Nevertheless, almost no deals are made in the European, Far Eastern and Caspian markets. <br> Noteworthy, most of April output has been already sold out, and there are only offers of Ukrainian and Belarusian longs in the market now. In particular, Ukraine’s ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, being inspired by the recent upturn in demand from the Middle East, North Africa and Iran, has made an attempt to push offers up. Moreover, the mill''s April order book has been practically filled up. In particular, the supplier has lifted offers by $5-25/t over a week after making its latest deals at $650-660/t FOB for rebar and $700/t FOB for coiled wire rod. At the same time, Metinvest International S.A. closed sales of wire rod at $690-700/t FOB in the first half of the month. <br> Belarus SW, having additional export volumes of rebar to be rolled in April (25,000 t), has been forced to give a discount while making a deal, market players report. <br> After April production target revision, Moldova SW has decided to redirect the entire finished longs output to the Russian and Ukrainian markets. Thus, its April production will not be exported. The supplier will start collecting orders for May output after April 10. <br> The Far Eastern market has seen no growth of demand for construction steel. After small lots of wire rod to be rolled in April from Evraz Holding were sold at about $710/t FOB in mid March and from Amurmetal – at $690/t FOB a week before, no new deals were reported. Given the unfavourable market situation, it is unprofitable for Russian suppliers to export to Asia, and thus they have had to switch to other sales outlets. In particular, the latest deals between Evraz Holding and Central Asian consumers have been made at $780/t DAP. <br> EU buyers still inactive, suppliers have withdrawn from the market, leaving the attempts to spur them. In the first half of March Metinvest International S.A. reportedly sold part of April output of wire rod to Eastern Europe (Romania and Hungary in particular) at $700-710/t DAP Ukrainian border. <br> There are still no offers of CIS longs in the Caspian region. Moreover, wire rod from Russian mills Chelyabinsk and Beloretsk SW will not be exported due to high demand for hardware within the country, market sources say. <br> (Source: <a href="http://www.metalexpert-group.com/"><span><u><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">www.metalexpert-group.com</font></u></span></a> )<br> <br> </span>