Iran: Steel slab export prices rise, billet trades may pick up next week

Iran's semi-finished steel export prices rose sharply as some deals have been reported at high offers. Slab export deals remained strong, although for billets mills are likely to open offers next week.

Prices for both steel billets and slabs have witnessed an upward trend amid strong global steel prices and supply concerns.

The market remained largely inactive during the Nowruz (Persian New Year) holidays.

• An export deal for 50,000 t of steel slabs was heard concluded at around $750/t FOB earlier this week for SE Asia; the shipment is scheduled for Apr'22.
  
  
• Another major slab export tender was reported to be finalised to Europe at $850/t FOB.
  
  
• An Iranian mill has concluded a 40,000 t billets export deal in the third week of March. The deal was concluded at around $690/t FOB for the end-May shipment. Iran's billet export prices have risen marginally by around $10/t as against the last concluded tender at the beginning of March.
  
  

SteelMint's assessment of Iran's billet (3SP) export prices stood at $690/t FOB on 29 March, mainly stable w-o-w.

"Iranian mills may come up with billets export tenders next week", a source based in Iran informed.

Domestic billets trades fall, prices inch up

Domestic billets sales on the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) fell significantly by 38% while the average price inched up by around 3% as against week ending 17 March.

Around 81,015 t of billets were traded on the IME in the week under review at an average sales price of 150,268 Rial/t. On week ending 17 March, about 131,700 t of billets were traded on the IME at an average price of 146,007 Rial/t.