<span>CIS longs exporters were quite inactive in late March. Producers have filled up April order book, but only some suppliers, who sell the material from the Azov-Black Sea ports, have started offering May output. The Caspian region is still on holidays, and sellers, exporting to SE Asia, are still uninterested in shipments to this destination due to poor demand there. At the same time, longs prices in the Eastern Europe are just nominal. <br> Only Metinvest International S.A. has reportedly started testing buyers with new prices for May rolling of wire rod. Having easily sold out April output in the first half of March, the company, being inspired by the success, has made an attempt to strengthen its position. So, the supplier has raised offers by about $30/t, to $720-730/t FOB, hoping steady demand for wire rod will help to achieve the increase. However, given rather pessimistic sentiments in the semis and raw materials segment, the increase has been opposed. <br> ArcelorMittal Krivyi Rih, in turn, having filled up April order book a week ago, is studying the market now to determine prices for finished longs of May production by next week. The latest contracts for the producer’s wire rod have been closed at $700-710/t FOB. The mill’s last-week attempt to lift rebar prices to $670-685/t FOB failed, so the most recent deals have been made at an average of $660/t FOB. <br> Belarus SW has closed rebar sales at $640-650/t FOB, and left the market by the moment. The supplier is expected to start offering May production next week, and the initial quotations will be at the level of latest transactions. <br> Metinvest International S.A. has not finally set prices to Eastern Europe, but the material will probably be quoted at $720-730/t DAP Ukrainian border (by $10-20/t up in two weeks). However, amid extremely weak demand for finished longs in the region, it will have to make some reductions to sell the products. <br> ( Source: <a href="http://www.metalexperts-group.com/"><span><u><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">www.metalexperts-group.com</font></u></span></a> )</span>