Suppliers are going to insist on higher import slabs prices in Asia, following active sales over the previous month, as production restrictions are expected to continue in China and overall sentiment in the HRC market in the region has started to improve.
The targeted price levels, voiced by the major suppliers from the CIS and Southeast Asia, are at $750-760/mt CFR, according to market sources, versus the tradable value of $725-730/mt CFR over the past two weeks.
But as now there have been no higher bids heard in the slab market in Asia. The price idea voiced by Chinese importers is still at around $720-730/mt CFR, while Southeast Asian customers either bid low close to $700/mt CFR or are holding back from placing requests, waiting for more clarity in the HRC segment. “We are not buying now, prices should be lower,” an official at a mill in SE Asia said.
The reference price for import HRC price in Vietnam is still at $870/mt CFR, but some higher tradable level may be seen in the market in the near future, taking into account the stable price announced by Formosa and the bullishness of Indian HRC exporters.
Most slabs exporters are not in a rush to sell after a number of deals in September to China, and so they are going to continue holding their offers at higher levels, waiting for customers to respond in time. The SteelOrbis reference price has been increased by $15-20/mt this week to $740-750/mt CFR.