The Black Sea steel billet market remained strong Wednesday with a fresh booking confirmed into Egypt at higher levels with tightening prompt availability.
An Egyptian re-roller bought 5,000 mt of Ukrainian billet at $432/mt CFR, equating to around $417/mt FOB.
This was confirmed with a source close to the deal.
A London-based trader said the Egyptian market -- which has imposed import tariffs on rebar from Turkey, China and Ukraine -- was hot.
"Construction [is] picking up everywhere and [the] government is pumping in money like crazy in housing and infrastructure," he said, suggesting most mills had upped rebar prices domestically and could not find enough billet to roll.
"Premiums are paid for prompt shipment or material at the port already, so $435/mt CFR will be achieved very soon," he said.
Egypt's central bank announced its international reserves reached $31.3 billion at the end of June, according to provisional figures, after they hit their highest level since the 2011 revolution last month.
One Dubai-based trader said he offered at $435/mt CFR into Egypt but his buyers were not ready to pay this yet, although he deemed $430/mt CFR as tradeable.
He estimated CIS billet prices workable in the $410-$415/mt FOB range.
Another Dubai-based trader concurred, suggesting $410-$415/mt FOB represented tradeable value Wednesday.
But he said bids were lagging behind, with his clients targeting $415/mt CFR Turkey, some way below offer levels of $415-$420/mt FOB.
Turkish mills still appeared to prefer scrap, with recent deals for premium US East Coast material done at $296/mt CFR and $298/mt CFR for heavy melting scrap I/II (80:20) basis.
A Switzerland-based trader said $420/mt FOB was the market level for billet, with one CIS mill opening a tender at $410/mt FOB with prepayment.
There has been talk in recent days of a Turkish mill paying $435/mt CFR for a prompt shipment of Ukrainian billet, but this could not be confirmed.
Another trader said Turkish mills would pay a maximum of $420/mt CFR to import prompt billet, which seemed to be commanding a premium given a perception of tight supply.
He said an Iranian buyer had offered at $432/mt CFR Turkey for August shipment, though other traders have said Iran was sold out to September.
Domestic Turkish billet was trading around $440/mt ex-works, he added.
S&P Global Platts increased its daily billet assessment $2.50/mt to $415/mt FOB Wednesday.
