Imported slab prices have increased further in Asia over the past week amid high iron ore prices and continued inquiries from China. Brazilian and Indian slabs have been popular recently. Offer volumes of slabs in Asia may be limited in the near future as many major suppliers are sold out for August.
Two cargoes of ex-Brazil slabs have been traded at $395/mt CFR recently. Some sources said that one of the deals was even slightly above this level. Previous contracts for ex-Brazil slabs to China were signed in the range of $390-395/mt CFR a week before. Sources have said that exporters from Brazil have sold sizable volumes to Asia over the past month and have started to offer more actively to the US. Brazilian mills are sold out for August shipment, according to the reports in the market.
An Indian producer has managed to sell two lots of 30,000 mt each at $382-384/mt FOB Paradip port on the east coast to China, which translates to $400/mt CFR or just slightly below this level. In early June, a sale of Indian slabs to the Asian market was at $365-369/mt FOB Paradip.
Russian slabs have been offered at $400-405/mt CFR Asia during the past week. The main supplier from Russia is also sold out for August shipment.
As a result, the reference price for slabs in Asia has increased by $5-10/mt over the past week to $395-405/mt CFR.
The tradable value for slabs in China and Southeast Asia should be above $400/mt CFR for the next sales, sources believe, due to the limited offer volumes and higher HRC prices in the region. But it will be hard to find bids above $400/mt CFR in China this week, traders said, as futures are weakening. HRC prices in Vietnam have reached $440-450/mt CFR in the latest deals for Indian and Taiwanese coils, up from contracts at $438-440/mt CFR reported last week.
