In May, prices for ex-Asia slabs have been fluctuating in a limited range with only slight discounts seen for such trade destinations as Europe due to weak demand. Unexpected sales of Asian slabs have emerged for the US market, but market sources are not sure that this will be a new trend due to the existing tariffs.
Ex-Indonesia offers for August shipment have been at $440/mt FOB on May 22, which is down by $5/mt from early this week, but in line with the level seen in early May. The mill has started to offer for August shipment after a sale of 50,000 mt of slabs for July shipment to the US at $440/mt FOB, according to a number of market sources. This is an unusual situation as the US importers focus on Brazilian slabs as there is a 25 percent tariff for other origins. With 25 percent on top, the FOB price will be as high at $550/mt, or closer to $600/mt on CFR basis. The ex-Brazil offer stands at $510/mt FOB. Nevertheless, some US customers have decided to purchase from Asia in order to have greater power in negotiations with the Brazilians in the future. Also, one of the major Vietnamese mills is also heard to have sold a slab cargo to the US at a similar FOB price, which, however, could not be confirmed by the time of publication.
Apart from sales to the US, a Malaysian mill managed to sell 50,000 mt of slabs to Turkey at $465/mt FOB last week, which translates to near $500/mt CFR. The price was accepted as Malaysian slabs are duty-free in Turkey. The indicative price from a Russian sanctioned mill has been stable at $450-455/mt CFR, while a non-sanctioned mill offered at $470-475/mt CFR to Turkey.
As for the European market, the latest offers for plate-grade slabs from China have been at $510-515/mt CFR, down by $10-15/mt since early May. The tradable level for ex-Russia and Asian HRC-grade slabs has been at $480-485/mt CFR at best, versus offers at $500/mt CFR two weeks ago.
Asia’s import slab market has also been relatively stable, but some buyers have managed to find discounts up to $10/mt from sanctioned mills or for some grades. In particular, a week ago a Russian sanctioned mill sold 40,000 mt at $430/mt CFR, while sanctioned material was sold mainly at $440/mt CFR in late April. Also, a trader sold 10,000 mt of Chinese origin SS400/Q235 slabs to Thailand at $450/mt CFR last week.
