Southeast Asia’s import slab market has slowed down this week due to the holidays, but some lower-priced deals have been reported to China. As the outlook for the HRC segment has been bearish, there has been no chance for slab prices for China to remain firm.
A contract for slabs from Russia’s Far East region has been done at $625/mt CFR to China, down by $10/mt from the previous deal for the same origin. A further price decline is expected and demand in Southeast Asia has been weak, and so this has led to further cuts in offers to China to attract some demand before the long holidays. Also, another deal for ex-Black Sea slabs has been heard at $615-620/mt CFR to China, but this could not be confirmed by the time of publication.
“The market is bad and I believe we will get $600-610/mt CFR in January,” a Southeast Asian slab importer said. The indicative price level for slabs from major suppliers to SE Asia was $630/mt CFR.
Import HRC prices in Vietnam have touched $755/mt CFR in the latest deal, down from the previous $760-780/mt CFR. And most market sources believe that prices have not reached the bottom yet. “If China comes back to the [export] market, it will pressure prices,” a trader said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported slabs in Asia has lost another $10/mt over the past week to $620-630/mt CFR.