Today’s snapshot — 2026-08-21
Top mover: Billet FOB ex-Russia −1.64% to $450.00 (SteelOrbis) — CIS semis gave ground while every scrap leg on the tape froze.
Notable prices:
- Billet FOB ex-Russia = $450.00/t (-1.64%)
- US-origin HMS 80:20 CFR Turkey = $375.21/t (unchanged, 0.00%)
- Iron ore KORE 61% Fe CFR Qingdao = $97.58/t (-$0.36, -0.37%)
- US Midwest HRC index = $60.12/cwt (+$0.29, +0.48%)
Headline driver: The brief’s freight leg deteriorated sharply — Hormuz fell to seven transits Thursday from 14 Wednesday with no VLCC or LNG tanker, Bab el-Mandeb to 23 from 34, Brent ~$93.61/bbl heading for a ~5.8% weekly gain, and a second peak-season surcharge announced on an Asian lane from 31 August. Physical did not follow: Fastmarkets held all six deep-sea legs at 0.00%, Kallanish left Turkish HMS at $373.25 for a ninth session and shredded at $393.25, and SteelOrbis printed 0% on both scrap and rebar.
Action signal: No actionable signal today. Turkish rebar held its $575–590 lift on SteelOrbis while Fastmarkets refreshed and stayed at $570–575 — confirmation is still missing, so treat the re-rate as one tape.