Iran Accepts Price Increase for HRC Import

Hot rolled coil’s import prices keep on rising in Iran amid the global uptrend.

The rise in the import segment does not support the buying activity of Iranian customers, so only few deals take place as buyers prefer to deal with local suppliers.

Offers from Kazakhstan have been reported at $470-475/ton FOB (about $482-490/ton CFR Anzali) throughout the week.

A supplier recently sold a small batch of the material with January shipment to Iranian buyers at the upper end of the price range.

Last week, some volume of Kazakh HRC changed hands at $450/ton FOB (nearly $462-465/ton CFR Anzali). The surge in prices for ArcelorMittal Temirtau’s products in just a week has spiked concerns among Iranian customers.

“I can’t believe the producer has raised prices that high [$25/ton up over the week], so demand for import material in Iran is now quite weak,” a trader told Metal Expert.

Russia was selling 2 mm HR coils to Iran at €400/ton FOB Astrakhan last week, which is €10/ton higher than three weeks ago. The dollar equivalent of offers from Russia was some $460/ton CFR Anzali.

“Last week, we did not accept the offer as we had bought the material from other suppliers,” a market participant said.

Russian suppliers intend to determine their price idea soon and do not offer HR coils to Iranian buyers so far. However, given the price rise in other important export sales outlets, they are likely to start to offer their material at higher levels.

Business activity on Iran Mercantile Exchange is high. Over the past three weeks, Mobarakeh Steel Company has sold about 158,500 tons of 2.5-15 mm HR flats with December-February delivery within $436-473/ton (15,963-17,341 rials/kg) EXW.

Iranian stockists are currently offering 3-15 mm local material for $523-531/ton (19,174-19,450 rials/kg) ex-warehouse. Import HR coils are available at $570-574/ton (20,900-21,050 rials/kg) ex-warehouse, including import duty (20%).