Prices in the CIS export billet market continued to slide on Wednesday April 1, in line with lower bids received amid the reduced trading activity.
Fastmarkets' daily
steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $330 per tonne on Wednesday, down by $5 per tonne day on day. This price was the lowest since October 2016.
Customers in the major traditional markets such as the Middle East and North Africa mainly refrained from bookings due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Algeria, the authorities have issued a
decree calling on companies to reduce their non-essential workforces by at least 50% to limit the spread of the virus. The decree came into force on March 22, leading to stoppages of steelmaking units and a significant reduction in capacity utilization at re-rolling facilities.
A cargo of CIS-origin billet was, however, reported...