Posted on 29 May 2018
CIS mills have closed June-rolling order books for hot- and cold-rolled coil for export last week. They are expected to announce lower offer prices for July-rolling material this week due to negative market sentiment, market participants tell Kallanish.
Russia and Ukraine-origin HRC and CRC sales for June production in export markets were closed at asking price ranges of $540-555/tonne fob and $610-620/t fob Black Sea. HRC bookings for Egypt and Turkey were heard at $560/t cfr Egypt and $565/t cfr Turkey in the middle of May, just before those markets entered the Ramadan slowdown.
"Their main export market currently is Turkey and the situation in Turkey is getting worse," a Europe-based trader source comments. The lira depreciation and uncertainties around June elections and US tariff exclusions are pushing importers off, Turkey-based sources agree.
Demand in the MENA region has weakened further in the past week following the start of Ramadan, with market activity perceived as very weak, while demand for CIS coils in Europe remains sluggish.
CIS mills are anticipated to announce July-rolling coil export prices this week, because "... they are under pressure to sell," according to the interviewed sources from different markets.
All the interviewed sources expect CIS-origin HRC, CRC prices for export to keep going down through the summer. "I expect the market in China to soon go down soon as well," notes one of the sources.
