Iran flat steel market remains sluggish

Mining News -On January 24th 2018, USD 1 was equivalent to 36,567 rials, while on January 17, $1 was equivalent to 36,461 rials, as per the official rate announced by Oanda.com. Iranian customers partially use the free market rate to import material due to the reduced availability of the US dollar at the official rate. Metal Bulletin’s price assessment for imported 2 mm hot-rolled coil in Iran was USD 560 to USD 580 per tonne CFR Iranian ports on Jan. 24, compared with USD 570 to USD 580 per tonne CFR a week earlier. Offers of Russia origin HRC (which are offered in euros rather than dollars) kept stable at EUR 470 to EUR 475 (USD 577 to USD 583) per tonne FOB Astrakhan.
The estimated cost of freight to the north of Iran is USD 35 per tonne, which would be equivalent to USD 612 to USD 618 per tonne CFR. Additionally, Iran has a 9% VAT and 10% import duty on HRC with 2 mm thickness and 15% import duty for thickness of 2.5 mm and above. Concurrently, local HRC was traded at 27,500 rials per ton ex works, equivalent to USD 605 per tonne ex works, including 9% VAT. Sources said that the price of EUR 400 (USD 490) per tonne FOB Astrakhan would be workable for Iranian customers now. No suppliers would agree to sell at such a price, however, considering they could achieve sales at higher prices to other destinations.