Weekly review of international steel hot spots: Southeast Asian billet quotations rose slightly, the United States exempted India from Section 232 tariffs (12.29-1.5)

This week, global ferrous metals saw mixed gains and losses, with steel prices rising slightly in some areas due to raw material support. The quotations of billet in Southeast Asia showed a slight upward trend due to the increase in iron ore prices. The quotation of 5sp billet was about US$557/ton CFR Philippines, which generally increased by about US$20/ton on a week-on-week basis. Türkiye's domestic long products are showing an upward trend due to high fluctuations in raw materials. CIS billet prices rose slightly, and the export market for slabs was relatively deserted due to the New Year holiday. The export price of Iranian billet fell, market transactions were deserted, buyers had a strong wait-and-see attitude, and the shortage of natural gas prompted steel mills to reduce production and continue to accumulate inventory. Domestically, billet export quotations remain stable, raw material prices remain high, and domestic steel mills' losses have expanded; long steel export prices are lower than domestic prices, and most steel mills are unwilling to reduce sales, and the overall transaction situation is poor. Vietnam's long steel prices remain stable, weak domestic demand still needs to be improved, and traders are still cautious about the market outlook; Hefa Steel's hot coil prices increased by about US$40/ton from March to April. The rise in rebar in India may be difficult to maintain. Most traders are pessimistic due to the impact of nationwide truck driver strikes and logistics stagnation. Taken together, the global steel market is generally affected by weak demand and market transactions are poor. It is expected that steel prices will mainly fluctuate in the short term.