Offer prices from the main Indonesian billet supplier have declined this week as the producer has only concluded limited sales at higher prices and the negative effect from the slowdown in China has been exerting pressure.
Ex-Indonesia 3SP offer billet prices have been reported at $525/mt FOB, down by $10/mt since last week. Market sources are arguing about the allocation that the mill still has. Some said that the mill is officially indicating only February shipment and part of it has already been sold out. But some sources said that they are still able to get small allocations for January shipment, of around 10,000-20,000 mt. “Their official offer always has a discount,” a large Chinese trader said, adding that it is possible to get a price below $520/mt FOB. The highest deal prices reported last week were at $525/mt FOB to distant markets like Latin America and Africa.
The Southeast Asian market has not accepted much higher prices, with the last deal for 5SP Indonesian billet at $530/mt CFR, while for 3SP “the maximum price in Manila would be $525/mt CFR,” a source said. The reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia was settled at $525-530/mt CFR last week.
The decline in billet prices in the ASEAN region has been triggered by the slowdown due to the seasonal factor in China and still weak demand in the region itself. Average local billet prices in China have lost RMB 23/mt ($3/mt) today and RMB 60/mt ($8.5/mt) over the past week, coming to RMB 3,685/mt ($519.5/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
$1 = RMB 7.0933