Higher slab prices have been reported in new deals for imported slabs to China. Bids from Southeast Asian customers have been at lower levels recently.
According to sources, two deals for traditional large volumes from Russia and Brazil have been done at around $420/mt CFR China recently, $5/mt higher than the previous contract price to this destination. Some sources said that the tradable value is even slightly above this level in China - closer to $425/mt CFR - but there has been no information about sales so far.
At the same time, sources said that bids for slabs from Southeast Asia are coming mostly at $410/mt CFR and this level is not workable, since the overall offer volume in the market is not big.
Higher HRC prices in Asia have supported slab prices. Last week, Indian coils were sold at $470-475/mt CFR to Vietnam, which is $15/mt higher than a week earlier. Moreover, at the moment market sources are discussing a sale at $480/mt CFR Vietnam. In China, the latest bookings of ex-Vietnam and ex-Taiwan HRC have been also at $470-475/mt CFR.