The situation in the import slab market in Asia has remained negative as demand for HRC has been very slack and sentiments have been bearish, putting pressure on buyers’ price ideas. China has remained fully out of the import slab market, given the still low prices for HRC in the local market.
Offers for ex-Russia slabs to Southeast Asia have been heard at $530-540/mt CFR as suppliers have been trying to avoid further price cuts, due to high costs and the strong ruble. But sources from Taiwan have said that, if someone needs to buy, they can get $510/mt CFR in an offer for Russian slabs. But “there is simply no demand. Inventories are high. So even if Russian suppliers are aggressive, I don’t know what the tradable level could be. I would say $500/mt CFR is already where the market is [for ex-Russia slabs],” a source from East Asia said.
Offers for ex-Asia slabs (Indonesian or Malaysian) have still been reported at $575-600/mt CFR and are being assessed as just an indicative level. “These are HRC prices [that could be found for ex-China SS400 HRC], not the slab price,” a source said.
At the same time, poor demand in the HRC segment in Asia has been pulling prices down. The reference import SAE1006 HRC price in Vietnam has slipped to $590-610/mt CFR, down by $5-10/mt over the past week. In the local Taiwanese market, prices for HRC have been officially at $720/mt ex-works from mills, but the real trading prices are much lower, at $640-650/mt ex-works, sources have said, which indicates the weak market conditions. Moreover, some rerollers in East and Southeast Asia have been forced to cut utilization rates of their re-rolling capacities to 30 percent for July and August.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported slabs in Southeast Asia is at $500-580/mt CFR with the midpoint at $540/mt CFR, down by $10/mt over the past week.