The downward trend continued to prevail in the global steel billet market in the week from Monday October 22 to Friday October 26, with buying activity remaining muted amid a lack of support from the finished long steel sector.
Some markets started to show the signs of optimism, however. In particular, in the CIS, some market participants hoped that the rise in import scrap prices in Turkey would help the market to pick up in the near term.Meanwhile, in China, domestic billet prices climbed for a second week because of good demand.ChinaDomestic prices in Northern China for steel billet were 4,000 yuan ($575) per tonne ex-works on Friday, up by 60 yuan per tonne from a week earlier.Billet inventory in Tangshan was 240,000 tonnes on Friday, down by 40,000 tonnes from the previous week, a trader in Tangshan said, quoting a local industry information provider.No export offers from China were heard. Sources estimated export offers to be around $520-525 per tonne fob based on domestic prices, up by $5 per tonne week on week.AsiaMeanwhile, in neighboring Southeast Asia, prices for steel billet edged downward amid lower offers and lackluster...