The strong demand for imported products in China has supported recent price increases in the slab segment in Asia, with deals heard signed at higher prices. Nevertheless, bid prices from the rest of Asia are at $20/mt lower than those from China.
A contract for 40,000-50,000 mt of ex-CIS slabs from the Black Sea region was closed at $360-365/mt CFR China last week, sources have said, while the previous booking was at $355/mt CFR China.
Moreover, there have been reports in the market that an Indian state-owned mill has sold about 30,000 mt of slabs at $350-353/mt FOB, which corresponds to $365/mt CFR China, though the information has not been confirmed by the buyer’s side.
“China supports. But China prefers to buy HRC. Volumes are much higher [than slab purchases recently],” a source said. Offers from most slab suppliers except from Iran have increased to $370/mt CFR and above in China, while bids are still mostly at close to $360/mt CFR. Ex-Iran slabs have been available at $360-365/mt CFR, with no interest.
In Southeast Asia, buyers’ price idea has remained at $340-345/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned, and there have been no fresh bookings as this level has been considered too low for suppliers. Customers in Southeast Asia and East Asia have said that, if the uptrend in the HRC market is short-lived, they will achieve the targeting price level for slabs later this month.
