Posted on 20 Feb 2025
The Saudi Arabian billet market, mirroring the rebar market, is experiencing low demand and suppliers preferring to cut prices in order to reduce stocks.
Demand has been supressed partly by large billet buyers in the local market booking imported billet at $50-60/tonne lower prices than local billet, Kallanish notes.
Merchant billet producers are cutting their prices by SAR 40-50/tonne ($10.6-13.3) in order to collect cash and clear their stocks. This week, standard 130mm 3sp billet transactions are occurring at SAR 2,030-2,070/t ($541-552) ex-works, with delivery to Riyadh and Al Kharj at SAR 2,070 and 2,080/t respectively.
Despite a drop in scrap purchase prices of SAR 25/t from the benchmark mill, local scrap is trending up in Riyadh due to supply scarcity.
Bunyan Solb, a Chinese investment in Al Kharj – an hour's drive from Riyadh – which is expected to start commercial production at the start of the second quarter, is heard to be about to start collecting scrap.
Source:Kallanish
