Prices in the Asian slab market have improved over the past week ended on November 11, following the uptrend in the HRC segment. Deal prices in Asia have increased by $10/mt since late October to $380-390/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has been informed. Russian and Brazilian suppliers have been successful in sales to Southeast Asia and China recently with at least 80,000 mt sold in total.
At the moment, offers are coming at $390/mt CFR for ex-Russia slabs, while Iranian suppliers are giving $380/mt CFR in offers to Asia as a minimum.
Hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in Vietnam added $10-15/mt in deals last week, reaching $430-435/mt CFR. “HRC prices increased, but the re-rolling margin is still very limited,” a source from Taiwan said. Ex-Taiwan HRC is offered in the export market at $415-420/mt FOB, as a result, with the gap with import slab prices at about $40/mt, which is not enough for re-rollers.
Demand coming from China was also an important supportive factor for slab prices in Asia, because overall consumption in Southeast Asia is limited and may increase only in one or two months, sources say, as mills are starting to increase their utilization rates.