Asian slab prices have been fluctuating in a limited range in the past week, but slightly more deals have been reported in the first half of November compared to October, amid stable demand in Asia but stronger interest observed in Europe.
Ex-Asia slab prices are at $445-460/mt FOB in the middle of November, and the range is only slightly wider from $447-455/mt FOB seen in late October. Most of the deals done this month have been heard at $450-460/mt FOB with Europe remaining the focus of sellers. The lower end of the range - $445/mt FOB - corresponds to ex-Indonesia offers, but it is for February shipment, which is out of the range of interest of most buyers.
In Europe, the latest tradable level has been reported at $505-510/mt CFR base, with a few deals reported for ex-ASEAN slabs for January shipment. Most offers are at $520/mt CFR base for plate grade slabs in Europe at the moment, but buyers are still targeting $500-505/mt CFR with a lot of risks involved. All prices exclude any CBAM-related costs.
Competition with Russian suppliers in Europe has continued as they still have a large part of their quota available and their lower offers have been heard at $470-480/mt CFR, though some sellers are targeting higher - at $490-500/mt CFR. After the sanctions on Evraz implemented by the EU, trading has been limited with the major part of volumes from Russia for NLMK’s plants in Europe.
In Turkey, the slab import business has been on the slow side for the past couple of weeks considering the rather high offers, particularly from Asia. Ex-Indonesia offers have been reported for end-of-January shipments at $485/mt CFR, while ex-Malaysia indications have been evaluated at $490-495/mt CFR, for around the same lead time. Chinese slab, according to sources, is currently priced at as high as $460-470/mt FOB, mainly due to higher workable levels in Europe. In Turkey, these offers translate to around $500-505/mt CFR, which is certainly outside of the range of interest of buyers. “I doubt that Turkey would even pay $480-490/mt CFR for Asian slab when a cheap option from Russia is available,” a source told SteelOrbis.
According to some buyers, slab for early January shipment from Russia is available in Turkey at around $460/mt CFR with slight discounts considered possible. In addition, it is believed that, due to CBAM approaching and the related uncertainties, Turkey may prefer Russian slab over Asian slab due to the shorter lead time, aside from the lower price. “All of them are BF origins, but Russian slab might be delivered before February,” a Turkish producer said. Turkey’s domestic slab production costs based on the current price of HMS I/II (80:20) scrap at $350-355/mt CFR are evaluated at around $510-515/mt, while local HRC base prices have been relatively stable for weeks now at $535-545/mt ex-works.
As Southeast Asia’s import slab market, Indonesia has remained interested in purchases with at least one deal for 20,000 mt of Vietnamese slab heard at not below $450/mt FOB, which is only slightly above a deal for the same origin and for the sales outlet reported in October at $447/mt FOB. Most Asian HRC grade slab offers in Southeast Asia have been at $465-470/mt CFR. Market sources said that suppliers from Russia’s Far East region have been quoting slabs at the lower level of $450/mt CFR, while buyers have been targeting $440/mt CFR for sanctioned materials.