Proposal to amend export steel assessments, billet index from Black Sea

Fastmarkets proposes to amend the specifications of five of its steel products assessments and billet index originating from the Black Sea basin.

The assessments are:
MB-STE-0558 Steel billet index export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne
MB-STE-0016 Steel slab export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne
MB-STE-0017 Steel wire rod (mesh quality) export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/ tonne
MB-STE-0014 Steel hot-rolled coil export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne
MB-STE-0012 Steel cold-rolled coil export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne

The implementation of widespread western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has caused changes in the market, particularly payment terms for finished and semi-finished steel products.

The proposed new specifications are shown below, with the changes in italics:
MB-STE-0558 Steel billet index export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne
Quality: Base 3SP (grades Q275 Q235, 5SP and equivalent normalized). Base sectional dimension 130x130mm and 150x150mm, 6-12 m length (100x100mm, 125x125mm, 120x120mm normalized)
Quantity: Min 2,500 tonnes
Location: fob Novorossiysk
Timing: Up to 6 weeks
Unit: USD/tonne
Payment terms:15-30% advance payment possible, rest or 100% against shipping documents or upon delivery
Publication: Daily, 4pm London time

MB-STE-0016 Steel slab export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne
Quality: Width 1,250-2,100mm, thickness 220- 270mm, length 6,000-12,000mm
Quantity: 20,000-50,000 tonnes
Location: fob Black Sea
Timing: 6-10 weeks
Unit: USD/tonne
Payment terms:15-30% advance payment possible, rest or 100% against shipping documents or upon delivery
Publication: Weekly. Monday, 2-3pm London time

MB-STE-0017 Steel wire rod (mesh quality) export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/ tonne 
Quality: Standard diameter 6.5mm
Quantity: 1,000-5,000 tonnes
Location: fob Black Sea
Timing: 3-6 weeks
Unit: USD/tonne
Payment terms:15-30% advance payment possible, rest or 100% against shipping documents or upon delivery
Publication: Weekly. Monday, 2-3pm London time

MB-STE-0014 Steel hot-rolled coil export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne
Quality: Width 1,000-1,500mm, thickness 2-8mm
Quantity: 1,000-3,000 tonnes
Location: fob Black Sea
Timing: 6-8 weeks lead time
Unit: USD/tonne
Payment terms:15-30% advance payment and against shipping documents or upon delivery
Publication: Weekly. Monday, 2-3pm London time

MB-STE-0012 Steel cold-rolled coil export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $/tonne
Quality: Width 1000-1,250mm, thickness 0.5- 2mm
Quantity: 1,000-3,000 tonnes
Location: fob Black Sea
Timing: 6-8 weeks
Unit: USD/tonne
Payment terms: 15-30% advance payment and against shipping documents or upon delivery
Publication: Weekly. Monday 2-3pm London time

These prices are a part of the Fastmarkets’ ferrous metals package.

The consultation period for the proposed amendments starts from Thursday April 18 and will end on Friday May 17. The amendments will then take place, subject to market feedback, on Wednesday May 22 for the billet index and on Monday May 27 for slab, wire rod, hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil assessments.

To provide feedback on these prices, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to these prices, please contact Vlada Novokreshchenova or Marina Shulga by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Vlada Novokreschenova or Marina Shulga, re: Black Sea steel products assessments, billet index.”

Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.

What to read next
Market feedback shows that these two commodities see active spot liquidity and great price volatility. Therefore, a higher assessment frequency enables Fastmarkets to reflect their spot market dynamics in a more timely manner. The new specifications for the prices are as follows, with the amendment in italics: MB-LI-0036 Lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, […]
Fastmarkets proposes to lower the frequency of its assessments for MB-AL-0389 aluminium low-carbon differential P1020A, US Midwest and MB-AL-0390 aluminium low-carbon differential value-added product US Midwest. Fastmarkets also proposes to extend the timing window of these same assessments to include any transaction data concluded within up to 18 months.
Fastmarkets wishes to clarify details around the following aspects of the pricing methodology for MB-AL-0343 aluminium P1020A (MJP) spot premium, cif Japan, $ per tonne.
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-AL-0399 aluminium scrap, old sheet (Taint/Tabor), cut sheared, 5-8% attachments, cif India price assessment, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday November 20.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ index for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) export, fob China main port for Tuesday November 19 was delayed due to a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for Latin America Recovered Paper, as part of its announced annual methodology review process. This consultation, which is open until December 31, 2024, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the International Organization of […]