After a consultation period, Metal Bulletin has discontinued its Iran import hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) prices, which were assessed on a weekly basis and published every Wednesday.
The discontinuations follows a significant drop in import volumes of flat steel products into the country during the current Iranian year, which began on March 21, 2018.
Over the first five months of this period (March 21-July 22), HRC import volumes dropped by 72% year-on-year, to 105,000 tonnes, while CRC volumes fell by 36%, to 122,000 tonnes, according to the Iranian Steel Producers Association. Russia and Kazakhstan were the major flat steel suppliers to the country.
Import volumes of steel products to Iran shrank because of weak demand, comparatively lower domestic prices, and the continuing loss in value of the national currency.
On August 31, the Iranian currency was trading at 100,000 rials to $2.37, compared with 100,000 rials to $3.01 on the corresponding date in 2017.
Additionally, on July 17 this year, Russian and Kazakh suppliers announced that they would stop exporting materials to Iran due to the re-imposition of trading sanctions against the country by the United States in early August.
Therefore, Metal Bulletin is discontinuing its assessments for Iranian imports of HRC and CRC, specified as below:
Assessment: Iran, import, hot-rolled coil, $ per tonne cfr Iranian ports
Dimensions: Width 1,000-1,500mm, thickness 2mm
Quantity: Standard order size 2,000-5,000 tonnes
Location: cfr Iranian ports
Timing: 6-8 weeks lead time
Unit: $ per tonne
Payment terms: Cash, L/C
Publication: Weekly; Wednesday, 3-4pm London time
Assessment: Iran, import, cold-rolled coil, $ per tonne cfr Iranian ports
Dimensions: Width 1,000-1,500mm, thickness 0.5-0.6mm
Quantity: Standard order size 1,000-3,000 tonnes
Location: cfr Iranian ports
Timing: 6-8 weeks
Unit: $ per tonne
Payment terms: Cash
Publication: Weekly; Wednesday, 3-4pm London time.
If you have any comments on the discontinuation of these prices please contact Vlada Novokreshchenova by email at: pricing@metalbulletin.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Vlada Novokreshchenova, re: Iran import HR coil, CR coil prices.’
All historical data relating to these prices prior to their discontinuation will remain available in the pricing section of the Metal Bulletin website.
To see all Metal Bulletin’s pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.metalbulletin.com/prices/pricing-methodology.html