Posted on 20 Apr 2023
Gulf Cooperation Council billet buyers have lowered their bids on the back of sliding rebar retail prices in the region. However, merchant billet producers are preferring to wait until May-rolling rebar prices surface, Kallanish notes.
This week in United Arab Emirates, a re-roller floated a billet enquiry for 15,000 tonnes of 130mm 3sp (SAE 1018 grade), targeting $565-570/tonne delivered to its yard for prompt shipment. However, local Saudi and Omani induction and electric arc furnace-route billet producers' offers are at $575-585/t delivered to UAE. Local billet producers prefer to wait until the benchmark mill issues its May-rolling rebar price, likely to happen next Tuesday.
Iranian electric arc furnace billet is offered at $550-555/t delivered in UAE and Oman for mid/end-May shipment.
"We prefer to wait until May rebar prices are surfaced. If the benchmark mill leaves unchanged its rebar price from April, we will hold our billet price at around $575-580/t," says a senior billet producer official.
Domestic scrap prices in UAE are stable at AED 1,400-1,425/t ($381-388) delivered for HMS 1/2 80:20 grade.
In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark mill announced on Monday it was keeping its scrap buying and rebar sales prices the same for May. Due to the Eid holiday from Friday until next Tuesday, the market is tranquil and buying activity is minimal.
Local induction furnace mills in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam are quoting 130/150mm 4sp billet at SAR 2,050-2,100/t ($547-560) ex-works.
"Buyers' bids are below our costs. Some small mills indulge and accept buyers' bids to continue their operations, but we cannot," comments another billet mill official.
Source:Kallanish
