The Asian billet market has been slow since the end of last week and most market sources are waiting for the return of buying from China soon.
Most offers for ex-ASEAN billet have been reported at not below $720/mt CFR. “Sellers are not in a rush. They may get $710/mt CFR again, but prefer to wait,” a trader said. Last week, a deal for an ex-Indonesia billet was done at $710/mt CFR and the tradable level reached $710-715/mt CFR in the middle of the week, before going down again.
The Indian mill has aimed to sell in the export market at still $630/mt FOB, the freight has been assessed at $75/mt at the moment and additional expenses at port of China may be up to $10/mt. Some sources said that the level of $620/mt FOB could be considered as reasonable for the seller, if the mill will have to conclude a deal before the start of the holiday in early October.
The tradable level has been assessed by market sources at $710/mt CFR at the moment, though on Friday most bids were at around $700/mt CFR. “We are waiting for demand before the holiday and suppliers will try to get $715/mt CFR and higher,” an international trader said.
Local billet prices in Tangshan have added RMB 20/mt ($3/mt) over the weekend, reaching RMB 5,190/mt ex-works, translating to $710/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.