Asian slab prices have been lost another $10/mt so far in the second half of September as demand has been limited, as buyers have been insisting on lower levels and since overall sentiments in the hot rolled coil (HRC) market have remained negative even despite the less aggressive policy of Indian exporters recently. About 50,000 mt of Russian slabs have been sold to Asia at $400/mt CFR for November shipment, SteelOrbis has been informed, which is $10/mt below offers in the middle of the month.
At the same time, the majority of bids from Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan have already been heard at $390/mt CFR. Some regional slabs producers have still been asking for $410/mt CFR, but this level is not workable any more.
Official offers from Iran have been heard at $395/mt CFR, but market sources have said that the workable level should be at about $380-385/mt CFR and some deals are expected soon.
Sentiment has still been bearish in the Asian HRC market as import prices have continued to go down. Offers for Russian HRC have slipped to $435-445/mt CFR, while the previous deals for ex-Russia coils were concluded at $442-452/mt CFR.