On March 1, clearing agents notified buyers of hot rolled coil and billet that the import duties on each had been decreased from 15% to 10% to 5%. When the parties wished to go into more detail about the reduction, they got conflicting reports, and the authorities said it might have been a system glitch. A buy-side source adds, “I was surprised when my clearing agent told me the customs duty for HRC was reduced to 5% from 15%. I then went on to verify this on the ZATCA website. “Imports will flow into the nation if this is not a...

A broader dimensional window for its high-strength steels was one of the goals of the upgrade, which got under way in August of last year. Another goal was to improve surface quality and gauge control. But as stated in a note, “severe and unexpected challenges have resulted in an extended commissioning period, placing extreme strain on the IJmuiden supply chain.” The business has notified its clients that it will not be able to meet its supply commitments, but it promises to keep working to minimize any interference with clients’ business operations.

Additionally, this has led scrap suppliers to raise their rates and withdraw from the market. Since the beginning of the week, some rebar producers have stopped selling rebar in both the domestic and export marketplaces. At first, they want to know how much waste will cost. Rebar is being offered at $740–750/tonne fob actual weight in the export markets on Thursday by those who are maintaining sales open. Meanwhile, quotes for mesh-quality wire rod ranged from $750-760/t piece. Although the export demand is still insufficient, Turkish factories are not currently focusing their attention on exports. Some market participants even contend that...

With 145.3 million tonnes produced, crude steel production in the 63 nations tracked by worldsteel was down 3.3% from a year ago but up from 140.7 million tonnes in December. In China, the estimated production for January increased 2.3% year over year to 79.5 mt after dropping to 77.89 mt in December. Ahead of anticipated higher demand in Q2, Chinese factories have been stepping up production. However, production was declining in other parts of Asia. India’s 10.9mt production fell just 0.2% year over year in January. South Korea’s production fell 9.8% to 5.5 mt, while Japan’s output fell 6.9% to...

Several mills have reportedly adopted ArcelorMittal’s hot-rolled coil price announcement of €820/t ($877), according to a Dutch service center buyer. According to him, delivery timeframes of now 4-5 months and growing import prices from Asia are arguments in favor of mid-term stability. Yet, a Swiss dealer warns that imports can have the opposite effect. Low pricing up until December prompted orders from India that will come later in the spring coupled with unsold volumes that are available for the market. He contends that if purchasers are reluctant to purchase here due to the real demand still being weak, the material...

Blast furnace billet import bookings continued through early last week at less than $600 per ton ex-Manila. Open-origin ASEAN/Chinese 3sp/5sp 150mm billet, according to a buyer in Manila, was reserved for $590-595/t cfr. A shipment of China 3sp grade billet that was transacted last week at $585/t cfr caused some market jitters. But, regional and Filipino traders claim they were unable to verify the agreement with customers. During the week ending February 10, position shipments of regional 5sp grade billet had reached a conclusion at $595/t cfr Manila. A Thai dealer learns that 15,000 tonnes of regional 5sp grade billet...

The price for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 was $420/t cfr Taiwan, which was unchanged from the previous week. Deals were, however, reported earlier this week for $415/t cfr Taiwan. According to a scrap merchant in Taiwan, this week’s prices could drop as low as $410/t cfr. Last week, several reservations were made at $420/t cfr, but local Taiwanese customers no longer accept rates greater than $415/t cfr. The earthquake has had a substantial influence on Turkey’s scrap demand, and Taiwanese scrap buyers are reexamining the supply and demand structure. According to a Taiwanese scrap recycler, “the market is waiting...

The buyers have received an email informing them that they are exempt from issuing a payment guarantee or paying import duty until June 2023. This exemption will be revalidated depending on the resubmission of the necessary reports. Sulb-Bahrain submitted the documentation to Saudi ZATCA through the Bahraini local ministry after undergoing external auditory certification for localization, place of origin of raw materials, etc. As Sulb-Bahrain has been recognized for compliance, the buyers won’t be required to pay import duties. Singh says, “We thank the government of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and in particular, the ZATCA authorities, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce,...

Exports to Bangladesh increased 158% to 144,326t, while shipments to India witnessed an unusually significant increase, from 56,364t to 236,225t. Nevertheless, shipments to Pakistan decreased by 25% to 137,132t. Turkey, historically the greatest destination for scrap exports, had a two-thirds decrease to 176,742t. Nevertheless, the overall volume of Poland scrap exports fell 22% to 2.09 million tonnes during January to November 2022. Polish coking coal exports, meanwhile, fell 39% to 1.67 million tons between January and November 2022, as a result of halved shipments to Ukraine and about 500,000 tons less shipped to the Czech Republic. Polish crude steel production...

10,000 tonnes of structural grade HRC were sold last week by a tier-1 Indian mill to Italy and Antwerp for $800–805 per tonne cfr, netting out to $75–760 per t for shipment in end-March or early April. When the USD/EUR exchange rate was at 1.10 last week, European buyers accepted this offer, and India considered no marginal loss in EUR realisations, according to a source. The majority of European purchasers have already completed their restocking, thus it is tough for Indian vendors to consider any raise after this agreement. Indian HRC proposals have increased this week to $810–815/t cfr Europe,...