Iranian billets export market slows down amidst uncertainty

Iran's billets export market remained less active this week. Lesser firm bids from China, geopolitical conflict between CIS nations and change in Egypt payment system kept trade activities slow. SteelMint's latest assessment of Iranian billets (3 SP) exports stood at $605-610/t FOB on 22 Feb'22.

However, an Iranian mill concluded an export deal for 30,000 t of steel billets (130*130mm, 3SP) at $603/t FOB recenlty this week.

After the import duty was revoked by Egypt government, billets demand from the country rose inevitably from the last few months. However, recent payment system transition in Egypt has put a pause on imports over uncertainty.

At the same time, the ongoing political conflict between Russia and Ukraine has kept the entire MENA (Middle East and North African) market under pressure, refraining buyers from concluding any new deals.

Iran domestic rebar prices up

Iran's domestic billets prices rose following an uptick in its export prices. Following this, rebar prices also witnessed a jump, sources informed SteelMint.

Domestic billets trade on IME down sharply by 49%

Domestic billets sales on the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) decreased sharply by 49%, but the average price increased by 2% w-o-w.

Around 82,825 t of billets were traded on IME in the week under review at an average sales price of 133,852 Rial. Last week, about 161,400 t of billets were traded on IME at an average sales price of 130,713 Rial. The easing of power curbs has improved offered quantity.

Outlook

The uncertainty in the global market and change in Egypt payment system may keep Iran's billets market volatile. However, the mills may come up with export tenders next week to get a better clarity on market trends.