While the situation in the Black Sea market has remained silent, a new deal for billet from Russia’s Far East region has come to light, with the destination being the Philippines, SteelOrbis has learned from the market. In addition, another Russian seller has continued its focus on Taiwan, with new trades reported.
A deal for over 20,000 mt was signed by the mill at $550/mt FOB Russian Far East port. This level is up by $20/mt from the contract done by the same producer at $530/mt FOB in late January.
However, some traders report that this latest lot has been offered and re-sold by a trader, who usually works with a Russian mill, at $580/mt CFR to the Philippines. The CFR price level from Russia is discounted for the Philippines as, despite the absence of direct sanctions, a lot of banks are not advising customers to work with Russian material, due to its invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing Western sanctions. As SteelOrbis reported last week, the reference deal prices for non-sanctioned billet in the Philippines was $595-600/mt CFR, with a deal for 30,000 mt of ex-ASEAN billet done at the lower end of the range. "There are not too many buyers for this size [125 mm]. Usually, it goes to Thailand. But maybe one mill in the Philippines needed a cheap cargo," an international trader said.
Another major Russian mill in the Far East has also sold at least one lot for April shipment at $615/mt CFR to Taiwan for vanadium-added material. Usually, this quality costs at least $15/mt extra over base billet. In early February, this producer voiced an offer at $620/mt CFR to Taiwan, but its sales for March shipment done last month were below $600/mt CFR, signaling that the mill managed to sell at a relatively good price in its traditional market.