After the news of the rebar prices fall at Turkish ports and due to the low demand in February 15-19, semi-finished products prices fell by $5-7 per ton and now don’t exceed $260 pet ton CIF. Some manufacturers have decreased their prices for late February deliveries to $257 per ton CIF.
“If the news that rebar prices have started to fall again is true, next week billet prices will fall to $240 per ton FOB. Many traders believe this is not the limit, as they expect a considerable fall of Chinese prices in late February”, says Derzhzovnishinform expert Vadim Odarenko.
The only destination with stable demand for Ukrainian semis is Egypt with prices at $263-265 per ton CIG. At the same time Algerian purchasers haven’t been buying square billets for months, while Turkey has switched to steel scrap. (Ukrainian metal)