Prices for ex-Asia slabs have continued to soften over the past fortnight, even though some ASEAN mills have been focusing on sales of other products and Chinese sellers have been not aggressive, unlike in other segments, such as billet.
An offer for ex-Indonesia slab has dropped to $465/mt FOB this week, down by $10-15/mt compared to late July. “Dexin is aggressive, but demand is weak. I didn’t hear of new deals, but if there are deals, they should be from Dexin,” an Asian trader said. There have been no firm offers from Malaysia, following the previous sales to Turkey, but the offer level is estimated by market sources at $475-480/mt FOB. “I don’t see many offers from the ASEAN region except Dexin, which is also mainly offering for late September-October [shipment]. FHS [Vietnamese producer Formosa Ha Tinh] is focused on HRC sales,” another source said, as the seller’s previous offer at $490/mt FOB is not workable in the current market conditions.
In the European slab market, the lowest prices have been for ex-ASEAN HRC grade slabs at up to $510-520/mt CFR, but for this grade there has been no demand. Ex-China plate grade slabs have been on offer at as high at $550-560/mt CFR, but buyers have not been showing support at this level.
No new deals have been reported for ex-Asia slabs in Turkey either. After a deal for ex-Malaysia slabs at $525-530/mt CFR and for ex-Indonesia material at $515/mt CFR over two weeks ago, the latest indications are at $510-520/mt CFR.
