The company will reportedly run both blast furnaces, but one BF will be shut down for repairs in the summer. Due to a decline in the demand for steel products globally, the company shut down blast furnace No. 1 at its Smederevo works in July. It promised to restart the plant once conditions improved. With its two furnaces, the Smederevo factory has a capacity of about 2.2 million tonnes of steel per year, while No. 1 operates at a capacity of only about 900,000 t/y. The product line includes preserved coil, electrolytic tinplate, and hot and cold rolled coil. Between...

A re-roller purchased 10,000t of HRC in the SAE 1006 and SAE 1008 (re-rolling) grades from a Japanese firm last week for $730/t cfr Jebel Ali against a 90-day LC. This comes to $705–710 per ton cfr LC paid at sight. The Japanese multinational ceased selling HRC in the GCC market this week and is getting ready to float its new offers for end-May shipments. This will occur in late March or the beginning of April.  A Chinese tier-two factory made a price offer to a tube manufacturer for 3mm+ S235JR grade at $720/t cfr Jebel Ali for shipments in...

A mill in Detroit took the initiative and joined the market with a bid that was more than $100/gross ton higher than in February for busheling. Other mills in the area that bid for the same grade at lower levels—about $60–70/gt higher than in February—failed to obtain material as a result. Busheling costs last increased by $100/gt a year ago. HMS prices jumped by more than $30/gt, while Midwest shredded prices increased by $60/gt from February. In the South, price hikes for busheling and shredded products were $50/gt and $60/gt, respectively. Scrap prices have seen support from exports, improved order...

“Although input prices have slightly increased from their lowest levels, which were reached about four to five months ago, the situation has not reached a level where one could contemplate an increase in export duties, which was taken about three quarters ago,” Sinha said on the Economic Times’ ET Now program. The secretary noted that the ministry is keeping an eye on the cost of both steel and raw materials. Sinha also stated that the government is not selling any of its holdings in NMDC. “Of course, we intend to strategically sell Nagarnar Steel, which has since been separated from...

The research firm claims that the market may receive short-term support from the most recent measures revealed by the Chinese government to encourage property lending. Steel production should increase in the future months as a result of higher margins and low inventories. In the near term, this should support prices, according to the research firm. However, it claims that this year’s steel demand will continue to be hampered by the absence of a sustained improvement in new housing starts. It also states that resolving supply-side problems will make the situation worse. Overall, it anticipates an improvement in the iron ore...

The removal of duties, according to Mexican businesses Forza SPL, Pytco, and Tubera Laguna, would have a negative effect on domestic production, according to a report published in the nation’s Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on March 7. For imports of materials from Tianjin United SteelPipe and Tianjin Huilitong Steel Tube, the countervailing duty was originally set at $0.506/kg and $0.537/kg, respectively. While entries from Huludao City Steel Pipe Industrial were subject to $0.356/kg duty, Tangshan Zhengyuan Pipeline, Tianjin Youfa Dezhong Steel Pipe, Tianjin Youfa Steel Pipe Group, and other Chinese firms were subject to $0.618/kg duty. The product...

Turkey has made several inquiries about billets, and Jindal Shadeed in Oman, Emirates Steel in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar Steel in Qatar, and Hadeed in Saudi Arabia have all gotten these inquiries and are getting ready to provide quotes. While there have been no actions taken to remove Turkey’s import duty on rebar and billet, this week’s softening of rebar and billet quotes has made it challenging for mills in the bloc to assess the Turkish market. While Iranian-origin billet is available at $625-635/t cfr depending on tonnage, the Omani mill is reportedly aiming $625-635/tonne fob, translating to $675-680/t...

In the final days of February, the majority of the big mills raised their purchase prices by nearly €15/tonne ($16.01) for all categories, according to a local source. “Only bids for the E1 grade went up this week by €25/t. In the upcoming days, it is anticipated that the other characteristics will rise by an average of €15/t, following this rise.” Another market participant claims that despite manufacturers’ lower production and the slowdown, demand for new E8 quality continues to increase. In Spain, demolition-quality grade E3 and E40 scrap are currently being sold for €405/t and €440/t, respectively, both shipped....

Vietnamese induction billet is rumored to have recently been sold by a Chinese dealer for $622–623 per ton cfr Manila. Traders claim to have seen a fast offer for Thai 130mm induction furnace billet for March shipment in the 3sp grade at $610/t cfr and the 5sp modified grade at $620/t cfr, both for 5,000t. There are still a number of Chinese billet position goods available. On Friday, it was reported that a 10,000t cargo of Chinese Q275 150mm for an April shipment was scheduled at less than $625/t cfr Manila. Additionally, a trader was seen advertising 130mm/150mm Q235 billet...

On February 1, rebar was selling for about $710 per tonne ex-works, but since then, scrap values have risen by more than $30 per t. The Turkish Mass Housing Development Administration (TOKI) and Turkish mills will convene on March 7 to discuss specifics. When reconstruction gets going, it’ll probably dominate the local rebar market for a while. Not only in the towns affected by the earthquake of February 6 but also in other earthquake-prone regions, reconstruction is anticipated. Last week, Turkish manufacturers raised their rebar prices even further, but domestic market activity slowed and exports stopped altogether (see separate story)....