Steel billet prices were mostly unchanged or went down in most regions in the week ended Thursday April 18, due to thin trading activity amid political elections, public holidays and full order books.
CIS, Turkey, Middle East-North AfricaBillet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have started to seek sales opportunities in Asia, considering the weak sentiment in their traditional markets in the Middle East-North Africa (Mena) region.A large cargo of Ukraine-origin billet was sold to South Asia at $440-445 per tonne fob Black Sea late in the week ending on April 12. And a cargo of Russia-origin billet shipped from the country's Far East ports was sold at $475 per tonne cfr Philippines around same time.Market sentiment in the Mena region was weak due to the downtrend in the price of imported scrap in Turkey in the week before, and the temporary import duty imposed by Egypt on billet and rebar imports."After Egypt imposed duties on billet imports, there are and will be cargoes canceled that have been previously sold. This means lower prices for billet in the short term," a...