CIS STEEL SLAB: Prices crash on lack of demand, increased competition

Steel slab export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region fell sharply in the week ended Monday March 30 due to the lack of demand in almost all markets as well as increased competition both inside and outside the region.

Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $330-340 per tonne on March 30, down from $385 per tonne fob a week earlier.
Indications of offers from the CIS mills were reported within the range of $335-340 per tonne fob Black Sea. Besides traditional slab suppliers, offers were also heard from Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), which usually focuses on sales of finished flat steel products, rather than semi-finished products.
Customers in the major traditional markets mainly refrained from bookings due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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