Imported slab prices in the Asia market have gone down further over the past two weeks as demand has been extremely low and buyers’ bids have been falling rapidly following declines in the flat steel market, in HRC prices in particular.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported slabs in Southeast Asia has dropped to $480-560/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $520/mt CFR, down $40/mt on average over the past two weeks. The lower end of the range corresponds to buyers’ current price ideas, though most sellers have not agreed to sell at this level.
Among the lowest offers there have been reports of slabs from Russia’s Far East region at $500/mt CFR, down from the booking made at as high as $575/mt CFR early in May and the last offers around two weeks ago at $550/mt CFR. “I think $500/mt CFR is the real [offer] price for Russia and Iran,” a trader said. Since bids have fallen below $500/mt CFR, the number of slab offers in Asia has been limited.
Ex-ASEAN suppliers have been asking for $560/mt CFR in the region with the price still assessed as being mainly nominal, given that Chinese traders have been offering SAE1006 HRC at this level in Southeast Asia. “ASEAN mills will go to Europe if they want to sell slabs,” a source said. An offer for ex-Indonesia slabs has been heard at $580-590/mt CFR in Europe, for HRC-grade slabs.
HRC SAE1006 prices in Vietnam have lost $30/mt in just over one week to $560-570/mt CFR due to the sharp fall in Chinese offers.