Slab suppliers to the global market, particularly the ones from Asia and Russia, have decreased their offers over past one-two weeks, taking into account a relatively mild, but continuous downturn in the hot-rolled coil (HRC) market. In Europe, the bids have been much lower than the most recent offers, although there are hopes for a better market if the latest ArcelorMittal price hike for flats is accepted by the market. Turkey’s HRC producers are nowadays reluctant to book slab from the import side, citing the lower flats prices, slow demand particularly on exports, and insisting for discounts specifically for non-duty-free slab origins.
In Turkey, offers from Indonesia have settled at $485/mt CFR, down by around $10/mt over the week, while Malaysia is offering closer to $490-495/mt CFR. Both are for February shipment lots. In addition, some traders have been offering ex-Vietnam slab option at $485/mt CFR, in line with Indonesia. “There are no slab sales as buyers are looking for $450/mt CFR as they consider based on HRC workable export level which is $520-525/mt FOB,” a trader told SteelOrbis. Ex-Russia offers for sanctioned material have been reported at $440/mt CFR, while some non-sanctioned lots have been available at $460/mt CFR, down from $465-470/mt CFR voiced earlier. Russia’s FOB slab prices are estimated at $415-420/mt and $435-440/mt for the sanctioned and non-sanctioned material, respectively.
Both Asian and Russian slab exporters have been still targeting European customers, especially amid attempts of ArcelorMittal to hike flat steel prices lately. But not a single deal has been reported so far as part of importers have been staying out of the market, having stocks and seeing slow finished steel demand, while some have been bidding at much lower level, even considering the latest offers decrease. In particular, offers for Chinese plate grade slabs have been at $515-520/mt CFR with small discounts possible, down from $530-540/mt CFR two weeks ago. However, rare bids have been at as low as $450-470/mt CFR.
Offers from ASEAN mills for slabs have dropped by $5-20/mt over the fortnight to $445-460/mt FOB. The main Indonesian mill has cut its offers by just $5/mt to $445/mt FOB for February shipment, but it is because it previously cut prices by $10/mt in early December and managed to sell some limited volumes for January shipment. “They dropped the price but still not selling,” a trader commented on recent decline in Dexin’s offers. The higher end of the range is still mainly for ex-Malaysia slabs, but they have posted a bigger drop from $475-480/mt FOB in early December to $460/mt FOB now. Vietnamese producers have also been offering in the abovementioned range for February.
