Prices for imported slabs in Asia and Turkey have declined again this week as a downtrend prevailed in the HRC market and overall demand has been slow. But some market sources believe that, if the Chinese market posts increases in the next few weeks, slab prices may also rebound, even though no expectations of better demand are heard, SteelOrbis has learned from the market on November 4.
There has been information that the main Russian slab exporter in the Far East, facing a lack of demand in Asia, has decided to sell to Turkey. A deal for up to 30,000 mt was heard at $475/mt CFR, though some sources said that it was even $10-11/mt below this level. In any case, this indicates a visible decline from last week’s offers at $500-515/mt CFR Turkey from the Black Sea. “I would say $490-500/mt CFR was the level early this week. But the Evraz deal exerts pressure,” a source said.
In Asia, the slab market has come to a halt after China dropped prices for SS400 HRC to $500/mt CFR Vietnam and even below in deals. The tradable level for ex-Russia slabs in Southeast Asia has been at $460/mt CFR from the supplier side, or even down to $450/mt CFR, versus the previous offers at $470-490/mt CFR in late October. But no deals have been reported so far.
ASEAN-based slab suppliers have also cut offers, from $550/mt CFR a week ago to $530-535/mt CFR, which remains unworkable. The SteelOrbis reference price for imported slabs in Southeast Asia has been lowered to $450-535/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $492.5/mt CFR, down by $17.5/mt over the week.
Some activity for slab purchases is expected from Mexico in the second half of the month, though no new bookings has been heard after that reported last week at $455/mt FOB Black Sea.