Prices for imported billet in Asia have continued to move up, driven by rising freight rates and surging raw material prices.
The latest offers for ex-Vietnam EAF billet have been heard at $760/mt FOB, which is assessed as $805/mt CFR to the Philippines, given the rising freight costs. Late last week, the freight for 20,000-30,000 mt of billet inside the ASEAN region was assessed at $35/mt or slightly higher, while it has already reached $45/mt, and in some cases $48/mt or $50/mt.
In addition, the price ideas for other ASEAN BF billet suppliers have already touched $820-830/mt CFR, according to sources. One offer has even been reported at $800-810/mt FOB from a BF-based mill.
Some market players believe that it is possible to get $800/mt CFR in negotiations, but there is a very limited number of firm offers at the moment “due to the recent surge in raw material prices. Mills have no idea how to price billets given the current strong volatility,” a trader said.
The latest deals to the Philippines have been already confirmed at $760/mt CFR for ex-Vietnam and ex-Russia billets, as it reported earlier. New bids are coming at $770/mt CFR and some customers may agree on $780/mt CFR, sources have said, but no suppliers can provide this. The lowest offer has been heard for ex-Japan 5SP billet to Manila at $800/mt CFR.
An offer for ex-Vietnam IF billet to the Philippines has been heard at $765-770/mt CFR, with the bid at $760/mt CFR.
This week, traders have increased offers for ex-Iran billet to $760/mt CFR for April shipment to Thailand, versus $700/mt CFR assessed as possible from suppliers a week ago.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in SE Asia (excluding Iranian material) is at $770-800/mt CFR, up by $25/mt from $760/mt CFR reported early this week and up $47.5/mt on average from last week.