The mood in the Southeast Asian billet market has worsened this week as, even though the Chinese market has remained relatively stable, bids in the region have fallen again and buyers have managed to find lower prices from alternative suppliers when restocking since last week.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia has been at $510-515/mt CFR, down by $6.5/mt on average from last week. The price reflects the latest deals and tradable levels for 5SP 130-150 mm billet. However, by Thursday, July 20, bid prices from some buyers have already hit $495/mt CFR, but there have been no offers close to this level by the time of publication.
However, trading activity has improved since last week amid the restocking needs of buyers who have been staying away from active purchases for quite a long time. In addition to an ex-Russia Far East deal for 26,000 mt of 125 mm billet done at $510/mt CFR to the Philippines, as reported earlier this week, another contract for 100 mm billet from another Russian producer has been widely discussed at $500/mt CFR Manila. This deal has been done with a Chinese trader and payment is in RMB, as SteelOrbis has heard from the market. Prices for 100 mm billet are not included in the reference weekly price.
Moreover, this week, 10,000 mt of ex-Malaysia IF billet have been traded to the Philippines at $503-505/mt CFR. “If you see the price at or below $510/mt CFR, it should be either Russia or IF billet,” a trader commented, adding that prices for ex-China and ex-ASEAN EAF/BF billet have not fallen much.
In particular, there has been information about a sale of 5,000 mt of ex-Indonesia 5SP 130 mm billet at $515-518/mt CFR. “As for me, this price is too high. Buyers try to find levels as low as possible,” a Manila-based trader said. “Dexin can give close to $500/mt FOB now, so the $515/mt CFR billet level in Manila makes sense, but only for the seller,” a Singapore-based source said.