Export prices for steel slab from the Black Sea basin have jumped by $15-20 per tonne over the past week, supported by tight availability of the material in the region, Fastmarkets heard on Monday February 25.
Necessary repairs at some production units were behind the reduced availability, market sources said.In particular, merchant slab output from Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest in December-February has been below the production target, because of blast furnace maintenance stoppages at Azovstal Iron & Steel Works and Illych Iron & Steel Works.With only four days of the month remaining, the target is unlikely to be reached. On February 14, a company source told Fastmarkets that the shortfall was 190,000 tonnes.Slab availability should remain tight in the coming months, while...