Offers for ex-ASEAN slabs have fallen sharply over the past fortnight due to the weakness in the Chinese market, which has started to reverse just recently. Moreover, some mills have dropped slab prices even below billet offers as they have been lacking semis orders for October shipment.
Ex-Indonesia slabs have been offered at $440/mt FOB, dropping by $25/mt over the past fortnight. According to sources, one or two lots have been sold at this level, but this could not be confirmed by the time of publication. One is rumored to be for Turkey with the CFR price assessed at $480/mt. “They were quite desperate to sell slabs. Buyers are not really following the uptrend [seen in billet and HRC in China],” a Singapore-based source said. The slab price from Dexin Steel is $5/mt below the billet offer, which is at $445/mt FOB today. China has been aggressive in billet exports, which has impacted ASEAN billet sales, but in the slab segment China has been not so active, with the main sales destination, Europe, being on holiday and with Chinese billet producers in a worse condition.
The Malaysian seller has been less aggressive in terms of pricing. The latest deal for a Malaysian mixed cargo of billet and slabs was done to Turkey with a slab volume of 30,000 mt and a price at around $510-515/mt CFR. But at the moment the tradable level from Malaysia would not be above $500/mt CFR or $455/mt FOB.
The drop in Asian slab prices has impacted other suppliers. A non-sanctioned Russian mill offered at $490/mt CFR to Turkey in early August, but at the moment the tradable level would not be above $460-465/mt CFR.