Prices for steel billet dropped in most global regions last week, due to a return of Chinese producers to the export market and uncertainty in the scrap markets.
The scrap market in Turkey declined, with increased fears of a change in the raw material's price trend.Fastmarkets' daily price index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) of Northern Europe origin reached $320.33 per tonne cfr Turkey on Friday November 23, compared with $326.65 per tonne cfr Turkey a week before.ChinaLower demand in China's domestic market caused prices to fall sharply and led producers to resume offers to the export market.Prices in China fell by 250 yuan per tonne, compared with the previous week, to 3,430 yuan ($495) per tonne, due to weak demand in the domestic market.Only a few export offers were heard over the week, with a steel mill in Tangshan saying that it would ship at $470 per tonne fob China if there were any orders.But other billet producers were heard interested in the export market due to the falling domestic prices and their bearish outlook on domestic market....