Although some positive movements happened in the billet segment from mid-January, Asian slab exporters have failed to raise quotations as demand in the major markets has been very weak. Though some mills are preparing to insist on higher prices in February after the Chinese New Year holiday, a number of market sources still do not believe that an upward trend is likely.
Offers from ASEAN mills for slabs, mainly HRC grades, have been at $435-445/mt FOB in the middle of January, $5/mt lower compared to late December. Some producers, like the Indonesian mill, which still has February shipment slabs, have been offering at the lower end of the range. “Even $430/mt FOB could be possible [from Indonesia]. But I think they will probably slow down bookings during the Chinese holiday to see what the market will do after,” a trader said. Malaysian slabs have been on offer at $445-450/mt FOB in the middle of January, just slightly changed from $450-455/mt FOB three weeks ago. But a few market sources have already said that they have heard new targets at $460/mt FOB, which “will depend on what will happen in China after the holiday,” an Asian source said.
In Europe, trading has been at a standstill. The workable level for plate-grade slabs (at the moment offered from China, India and the Middle East) stands at $500-510/mt CFR, though Chinese sellers have been indicatively asking for $520/mt CFR.
In Turkey, the latest ex-Indonesia offers have been reported at $468/mt CFR, down by only $2/mt since late December, while those from Malaysia have been heard at $473-475/mt CFR, down from $480-485/mt CFR. The achievable level for ex-Russia slabs from the non-sanctioned mill is still assessed at $450-455/mt CFR.
A deal for 20,000 mt of Japanese slab was done at $462/mt CFR to Thailand a week ago, while the tradable level in Indonesia was at $455/mt CFR at the highest for regional slabs. This means that over the past three weeks deal prices have almost been at the same levels - $455-460/mt CFR - as in late December, while trade volumes have remained limited. The lower prices in Asia are still for sanctioned Russian slabs, at $440/mt CFR at best.