The billet market continues to be particularly strong. CIS suppliers have consolidated their export sales at some $550/tonne fob Black Sea supported by the relatively small availability and the continued lack of strong competition from other suppliers.

The strength in the billet market is also highlighting the good profitability overall for steelmakers, as the spread between billet, iron ore and scrap has moved up further.

At $550/t fob, Black Sea billet prices are now some $150/t above those seen in March 2017. Last week a further $5/t increase was confirmed to reach a new record level.

While iron ore prices during the week stabilised at below $70/t cfr China and scrap levels in Turkey remained stable, the spread between billet and the two main raw materials increased further. This indicates that steelmakers continue to have the upper hand in the market. Last week CIS billet was trading at a $480/t premium compared with Chinese iron ore and at a $170/t premium compared with Turkish scrap. In mid-March 2017 the spread was $317/t with iron ore and $103/t with scrap. The spread between CIS billets and Chinese iron ore stood at below $275/t In March 2016.