CIS STEEL BILLET: Lower demand drags prices downward

The mood in the CIS export billet market has become downbeat in the second half of September, amid a lack of purchasing interest on the customers' side.

Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $411 per tonne on Tuesday September 22, down by $1 per tonne day on day.
Offers from mills were scarce, varying within the range of $415-420 per tonne fob Black Sea. Sellers referred to reduced availability of the material in the market because of maintenance work at some major mills. Nevertheless, these prices were described as unworkable by the majority of customers.

Several market participants reported bookings of small billet tonnages in Turkey at $424-427 per tonne cfr, which would...

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