By early this week CIS origin billet offers had started to rise rapidly from their past week's levels of $660-670/mt FOB Black Sea. At the end of the week, some sales at $680/mt FOB Black Sea for April shipment were heard and thereafter firm bids from customers moved up to above $690/mt FOB Black Sea. Currently, some of the CIS producers are not in the market and are planning to come back with new offers above $700/mt FOB Black Sea.
Meanwhile, the Turkish domestic market has moved up fast as well. Billet prices in this market have increased from their last week's range of $675-700/mt ex-works, excluding VAT, to levels above $700/mt. Toward the end of the week, it became almost impossible to find any offers below the level of $715/mt. Producers have started to make offers to the local market at $730-740/mt FOB as of today.
On the export side, Turkish offers were above $720/mt FOB. Not too many deals at these levels have been heard; however, due to the constant rise seen in the international billet market, Turkish producers appear likely to push for above $730/mt FOB in the export market.
When we look at billets for rebar and merchant bar production in Italy, levels have been at €490-500/mt ($725-740/mt) delivered to rolling mills, including 60-day deferred payment. Prices in Italy are climbing as well, but at a slower pace compared to those of CIS and Turkish billet.
The pick-up observed in the international prices has strengthened a great deal with the announcement of the new iron ore contract agreements heard this week. Particularly in the Far East, the agreements in question have given rise to a great amount of billet demand. We hear that offers at $770-775/mt CFR levels are finding a positive response from buyers in Far Eastern countries such as Thailand. Apart from the CIS, deals concluded in Brazil just above the level of $770/mt CFR have also been heard.