Export prices for steel billet from Iran narrowed downward over the week ended Wednesday February 27 amid negative sentiment in the global billet market, after declines in the prices for scrap and iron ore raw materials.
Iranian billet offers slipped to $400 per tonne fob in the last week of February, compared with the price of $410-420 per tonne fob sought by suppliers in previous weeks.A 40,000-tonne cargo for shipment in April was heard sold to Southeast Asia at around $440 per tonne cfr, equivalent to $400 per tonne fob Iranian ports. This price was $5-10 per tonne lower than bookings in previous weeks to the same destination."The Iranian market follows the CIS closely, and the price difference [between Iranian and CIS material] is now $45-50 per tonne due to sanctions," a market source told Fastmarkets. The United States imposes a regime of sanctions on...