International slab suppliers are trying to offer higher numbers to the Asian markets with offers at around $610/mt CNF in the Asian market. In the meantime, reports from market players indicate that, due to the depressed hot rolled coil markets, such levels appear not to be accepted in Asia.
The slab market is slow in the US. There are not a lot of slab transactions being concluded in the marketplace as re-rollers are only buying adequate tonnage to meet their production needs. Moreover, there is still no significant improvement to be seen on the US finished products market, and market insiders predict that US finished products prices could drop rapidly in the fourth quarter; therefore, re-rollers have no desire to buy large tonnages of slab today. Consequently, the offer prices to Asia are approximately $40/mt higher than the offer prices for the US.
Import slab prices to the US have stayed more or less the same from a month ago. Slab offer prices from Brazil and Russia are at $535/mt FOB US loading ports. Nevertheless, Mexican suppliers are asking for the soaring level of $595/mt FOB US loading ports.
In the US market, industry sources expect the US flat rolled prices to come down in the fourth quarter, and that would force slab suppliers to decrease the US slab offer prices.
The latest data from the US Department of Commerce's Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system show that the total amount of slab imports into the US in the month of August was 347,924 mt, representing a decrease of 123,185 mt when compared to the figure in July 2010. The main countries that exported slab to the US in August include: Canada, at 107,181 mt; Mexico, at 65,018 mt; Brazil, at 56,943 mt; Germany, at 45,240 mt; Russia, at 39,172 mt; and Japan, at 34,245 mt. Italy also imported a smaller amount of slab from the US during the period.