Prices for steel billet in most global regions softened in the week ended Friday January 18, because of low demand and the weak performance of the long steel markets.
But reduced availability from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) improved price expectations in some buying regions, such as Turkey.CISBillet prices from the CIS region remained unchanged last week, with mills trying to increase prices but buyers shunning any higher offers.New offers were reported within the range of $405-415 per tonne fob Black Sea late in the week, due to reduced material availability.In comparison, early in the week, mills were willing to accept prices as low as $400 per tonne fob.The most recent deals for Ukraine-origin material were at $400 per tonne, but sources believed that this price would only work for direct sales, which do not involve traders.As a result, the gap between offers and bids increased, since traders reported on Wednesday that the acceptable price was around $390-395 per tonne fob.Egypt, TurkeyOffers of CIS...