Iran: Steel billet export prices rebound in recent deals

Iran's steel billet export prices recovered this week with recent export tenders fetching active responses and high bids. Major steelmakers - Khorasan and Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO) - concluded their export tenders each of 30,000 t of billets at $480/t FOB.

This pushed Iran's billet (3SP) export prices up by $5/t compared to last week, SteelMint's assessment shows.

Coming to the global scrap market, Turkiye has resumed import activities. According to latest assessment, HMS 1&2 (80:20) prices from the US stood stable w-o-w at $375/t CFR Turkiye. Positive sentiments in Turkiye's imported scrap market supported billets prices.

IME trade volumes rise w-o-w

Domestic billet sales on the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) rose by 29% w-o-w whereas the average sales price remained largely stable.

Around 180,070 t of billets were traded on the IME in the week under review at an average price of 206,251 Rial. Last week, about 139,870 t of billets were traded at an average price of 204,873 Rial.

Iran's steel exports scenario

Iran's finished steel exports in the first month of the current Persian year (21 March-20 April, 2023) stood at 0.22 million tonnes (mnt), registering a 22% rise compared to the same period last year, according to data from Petrometals.

Exports of semi-finished steel products totalled 0.63 mnt, a marginal decrease of 1% y-o-y.