Prices for imported slabs have increased further in Asia. Suppliers have been increasing their offers as they see the rising trend in raw material prices and believe that sooner or later customers will have to accept higher prices.
No new deals have been reported over the past week. But most offers from the CIS and Southeast Asian sellers, from Malaysia in particular, have reached $660-670/mt CFR, though the latest deal reported by SteelOrbis last week was a sale of ex-Russia slabs at $645/mt CFR to Indonesia. “We see prices rise [for slabs]. But all will depend on demand in the HRC market,” a Southeast Asian customer said.
Lower offers are possible for ex-Iran slabs - at $630-640/mt CFR, but no fresh deals have been done.
In the HRC segment in Asia, after a continuous drop in prices, some signs of a rebound have emerged. In total, 100,000-105,000 mt of Indian HRC have been traded to Vietnam over the first two weeks of January, with the latest sale at $745/mt CFR. But as most Indian mills have almost sold out for February-March shipment, they will push for higher prices in the near future. Some new offers have already been voiced at $760-770/mt CFR to Vietnam. The market will depend on demand in Southeast Asia both ahead and just after the holidays in early February.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported slabs in Asia has been increased to $645-655/mt CFR, up by $15/mt from last week's range of $625-645/mt CFR.
