Slab offers from major ASEAN mills still vary in the range of $600-620/mt FOB, similar to those voiced in the second half of December. The latest deal was done for Indonesian material at the lower end of the range in early January. “The slab market [for ASEAN mills] has been less active than the billet market this month,” a trading source said. Despite limited sales, ASEAN mills have been targeting the European market with their latest indications at $615-620/mt FOB, which translates to around $655-670/mt CFR.
Asia’s import slab market is almost at a standstill and the tradable level has been assessed at not above $550/mt CFR for non-sanctioned sellers, being out of the range of interest of regional mills.
In Turkey, there has been some interest in import slabs, since there have been no purchases due to high prices and lower availability. Particularly, Saudi Arabia has not been in the market and the allocation from Russia has been limited due to some maintenance works. However, buyers have still managed to push for discounts for certain origins.
According to sources, a 30,000-40,000 mt slab lot has lately been booked from Malaysia to Turkey at $620/mt CFR, while the initial offer stood at $630/mt CFR for March shipments. Some of the market sources assume the buyer has booked the slab along with billet from the same supplier at $560-565/mt CFR. However, this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. Along with Malaysia, Indonesian suppliers are offering at $635/mt CFR for the same shipment term, while a sanctioned Russian mill has voiced $580/mt CFR. Some interest may be seen for Russian origin since such material, even from a non-sanctioned supplier, is currently the cheapest option available in Turkey.
