Hot rolled coil prices in the CIS are falling due to weak trade and competition

Exports of hot rolled coils to the CIS countries have stopped and there are very few offers left on the market. They are mainly aimed at Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa in general, where some areas of demand are supporting albeit sluggish trade.

Russian manufacturers continue to enjoy strong domestic demand and remain outside the market, with the exception of the Baltic shipbuilding company supplying to Northern Europe. Its offers dropped to $ 900-930 per ton against $ 930-960 per ton two weeks ago. Towards the end of the calendar year, European demand is declining and pressure from competing suppliers is increasing.

Black Sea bids are mainly targeted at Turkey and North Africa, where demand is also low, but small sales were made in the last week. Competition is also extremely high, affecting prices in the region as Asian offerings remain the most competitive (see separate article).

Offers to Turkey from a Ukrainian supplier dropped to $ 840 per tonne, or about $ 800-810 per tonne in the Black Sea, depending on tonnage, down $ 20 per tonne from two weeks ago. In North Africa, Egyptian buyers ordered about 10,000 tonnes of Ukrainian material at a price of US $ 868 per tonne cfr, receiving back about US $ 820-825 per tonne fob.

Meanwhile, after a significant amount of Russian material was sold in Southeast Asia in the first half of November, not a single offer from Russia was heard in the region at the end of November. Traditional Southeast Asia supplier trading from eastern Russian ports will not be available until February rolling /March loading, according to multiple sources.

Regional demand has been similarly weak as buyers remain on the sidelines watching developments in China, where a rebound in futures prices has prompted some market participants to anticipate a rebound in physical prices in December.