Posted on 15 Jan 2026
An ex-Iran billet deal has been concluded in the Gulf Cooperation Council despite challenges doing business with Iran due to social unrest, market sources tell Kallanish.
Earlier this week, a GCC buyer located on the Persian Gulf coast booked a 25,000-tonne cargo of 150mm 3sp (commercial grade) billet at around $422-424/tonne cfr, with end-February to March load readiness. The transaction translates to an estimated $406-408/t fob Bandar Abbas.
Meanwhile, another billet tender was cancelled by Yazd Steel on Tuesday as no one participated.
In the Far East, Iranian billet offers are heard at around $450/t cfr Indonesia, almost $10/t below prevailing prices for Chinese-origin material. This price gap is expected to stimulate buyer interest across the region, particularly as Iranian trade volumes with the Far East in 2025 declined sharply amid persistently low Chinese prices.
The name of the country involved in the concluded deal cannot be disclosed due to US sanctions on Iran and the 25% tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump recently on countries trading with Iran.
Source:Kallanish
