Iranian Domestic Billet Market Remains Unaffected by US Sanctions
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Iran, one of the largest exporter of steel in MENA region, major Iranian steelmakers exported around 3,879,206 MT of Steel during first seven months of current Persian year (21 Mar-22 Oct'18). On 04 Nov'18, US imposed another sanctions against Iran on banking, insurance and shipping sector. Domestic steel market was almost unaffected with the implementation of sanctions.
As per SteelMint assessment, billet offers in Iran domestic market has fallen down in last week (03 Nov-08 Nov'18). During the beginning of last week, billet price was noted to be around IRR 37,890/KG (USD 902/MT). During the mid-week domestic billet prices went up owing to implementation of US Sanction and prices was hovering at around IRR 38,190/KG (USD 909/MT). Towards the end of week billet price came down to IRR 37,850/KG (USD 901/MT).
On parallel lines, Iranian rebar market also witnessed a downfall. During last week, rebar was reportedly sold at around IRR 44,810/KG to IRR 45,190/KG (1067-1076/MT).
As per Planner, "Market is calm, and no particular affect is seen. It is believed that prices might further decrease since is USD is weakening further against USD."
| Commodities | 3/11/2018 | 4/11/2018 | 5/11/2018 | 6/11/2018 | 7/11/2018 | 8/11/2018 |
| Scrap | 30,900 | 30,990 | 31,230 | 31,630 | 31,790 | 31,850 |
| Billet | 37,890 | 37,690 | 38,190 | 37,890 | 37,690 | 37,850 |
| Rebar | 44,980 | 44,810 | 45,190 | 45,020 | 44,810 | 44,520 |
| Difference between Scrap-Billet | 6,990 | 6,700 | 6,960 | 6,260 | 5,900 | 6,000 |
| Difference between Billet-Rebar | 7,090 | 7,120 | 7,000 | 7,130 | 7,120 | 6,670 |
Unit in IRR/KG
Source: Planner
Iranian Billet Export Offers
As per market sources, current billet export offer in Iran is around USD 430-435/MT FOB Iran, down by USD 25-30/MT from USD 460-465/MT last month.
Lower prices helped Iranian exporters to attract buyers from GCC and Far East Asia. Notably, several cargoes of billet were reported sold over the past several days to the GCC nations, and to North Africa and Southeast Asia, at USD 430-435/MT FOB Iran.
Many trader have started receiving inquiries amid the US Sanctions. As per market sources "Traders have started receiving inquiries for 30,000-50,000 MT from customers in the GCC region.
