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)....

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...