Iran: Billets, slab export deals gain momentum

Iran, one of the leading billets exporters with annual exports of around 4.5 mn t, gained momentum this week after remaining less active for the past few weeks due to power outages. SteelMint confirmed two billet export deals and one slab export deal to have been concluded this week.

Confirmed deals:

• An Iranian mill reportedly sold 25,000 t of steel billets through an export tender yesterday, as per SteelMint reports. According to sources, the mill concluded the tender at $650/t FOB Iran. The shipment is likely to be scheduled for Oct-Nov'21.
  
  
• Another deal of 20,000 t of steel billets was concluded by an Iranian mill, sources informed SteelMint. The shipment is likely to be scheduled for Oct'21. According to market sources, the deal was concluded at around $635-640/t FoB Iran.
  
  
• In another deal an Iranian mill has concluded an export deal for 30,000 t of slabs, sources informed. The shipment is likely for Oct'21. The deal was heard concluded at $680/t on FOB basis. Iran's slab export prices have fallen by around $10/t compared to prices seen in end-Aug.
  
  
• Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company, one of Iran's leading steel exporters, has floated an export tender for 30,000 t of steel billets for Oct-Nov'21 shipments. The result of the tender could not be confirmed till the time of publishing this report.
  
  

Recovery in Chinese re-bar futures has given some support to market sentiments. According to data maintained with SteelMint, China's SHFE rebar futures contract for Jan'22 delivery closed today at RMB 5,541/t ($860/t), witnessing an increase of RMB 23/t ($3/t), d-o-d.

Iran's steel exports rise in first five months of Persian Year: According to recent data released by the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA), finished steel exports in the first five months of the current Persian year (Mar-Aug'21) stood at 1.4 million tonnes (mn t), registering a noticeable rise of 88% compared to the same period last year. The export volumes of billets and blooms in the first five months of this Persian Year stood at 2.50 mn t, up by 16% compared to the corresponding period last year (CPLY).

Domestic billet trade on IME falls sharply: Domestic steel sales on the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) decreasing sharply by 78% w-o-w on drop in average price. Around 14,260 t of billets were traded in the last one week at an average sales price of 130,500 Rial on IME, as per data maintained by SteelMint.