Prices from most Asian slabs exporters have remained stable at high levels or have increased further over the past week as a bullish mood prevails among sellers despite the easing of trading, which was very active during almost all March. The shortage of slabs and rather positive flat steel market in Europe, Turkey and Southeast Asia have supported the positive mood in the slab segment.
An Indonesian mill has voiced its slab offer price for July shipment at $520/mt FOB today, this is stable compared to early this week, but up by $10/mt from March 26. The mill has adjusted billet and wire rod offers down today, April 2, but it has decided to keep slab prices and HRC offers unchanged (HRC at $560/mt FOB) amid “promising demand”, according to a mill’s source. Though there have been no active sales after the previous round of bookings, sellers believe that they will get the targeted level in deals later in April. “This $520/mt seems a bit high and shows their expectations,” a trader said. The main Vietnamese mill has been out of the market after previous bookings to Europe and Latin America.
The only deal heard lately has been for ex-Malaysia slabs to Turkey at $560/mt CFR done last week. This price translates to around $510/mt FOB and has been assessed as “reasonable” for buyers in the current conditions of rising raw materials and the shortage of slabs, but also given the current environment in the local HRC segment in Turkey. Particularly, according to the latest scrap average at $390/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 captive slab production costs in Turkey should be at around $550-560/mt. The latest ex-Asia slab indications in Turkey have been reported at $580-590/mt CFR with no details on the specific origin available. There have been no fresh offers for Russian slabs from the Black Sea. “They are waiting now to offer for June. The indications I heard were $530/mt FOB and higher,” a source said. This FOB price translates to $555-560/mt CFR for May shipments.
In the European market, the price picture has been mixed. Some importers claim that they have started to receive offers for Asian plate grade slabs, starting from $600/mt CFR, which is up from $560-580/mt CFR a week ago. But there have been no reports of new sales after the previous deals signed at $560-570/mt CFR for sizable tonnages of South Korean, Vietnamese and some other Asian origins in the pre-holiday week.
Even Brazilian mills have increased their targets to as high as $610-620/mt FOB, after reaching $590/mt FOB, as reported on Monday.
The only exception has been some reports that Chinese traders may provide $490-495/mt FOB for HRC grade slabs, but this level can be seen only from second-tier mills and targeting lower-priced markets like Southeast Asia. In Southeast Asia, after a sale at $500/mt CFR in mid-March, the tradable level has increased to $520-530/mt CFR with no cheaper option available.