Import slab prices in China have moved down further over the past week. Suppliers from Russia, Brazil, Iran and some other countries have been interested in sales and, as a result, new bookings have been done at $5-10/mt below the previous level and new bids have dropped again.
The tradable value for imported slabs, except those from Iran, which are usually assessed at lower level, was $345-350/mt CFR China last week. A deal from Russia’s Far East has been closed at this level, according to Chinese sources. Offers from Black Sea have been heard at $350/mt CFR and some sizable tonnage has been sold to China at this price level. A Russian supplier from the Baltic region has been in negotiations at about $345/mt CFR, but no deal has been concluded. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, the previous transaction level was at $355/mt CFR a week ago.
Brazilian suppliers have also remained active, offering to China at $350/mt CFR, though there have been no new deals reported so far. Over the past two-to-three weeks, more than 200,000 mt of slabs from Brazil have been sold to China.
Indian sellers have been more interested in exporting HRC rather than slabs. Some rare slab offers have been at $350-355/mt CFR China.
Offers for ex-Iran slabs to China have been at $330/mt CFR, but “the deal could be done at $320/mt CFR,” a source told SteelOrbis.
Most Chinese sources said that it would be hard to achieve $345/mt CFR now as most bids have further slipped to $340/mt CFR at maximum. “$345/mt CFR is too high for now. The HRC market puts pressure,” a trader said. At the same time, slabs suppliers have already booked big volumes to China and could wait for some time without providing very large discounts.