Prices for ex-ASEAN billet have stabilized this week as mills have been resisting buyers’ intention to obtain lower prices, while steel and raw material futures prices in the Chinese market have still been showing some increases, though at a slow pace. Trading has eased somewhat.
The official offer price of the Indonesian mill is still reported at $500/mt FOB, in line with the level last Friday. Only one deal was done for Dexin Steel’s billet, at $495/mt FOB by a trading company for July shipment in the second half of last week. The final tonnage remains unknown by the time of publication. The deal was done after bookings at $490-493/mt FOB early last week.
Of the 35,000 mt of Indonesian billet bought in a position by a trader at the lowest price level last week, 25,000 mt are for the market in the Philippines, according to sources. The material was not sold to an end-user, a few sources said. Offers for IF billets have been reported at the stable levels of $520-525/mt CFR Manila for 150 mm 5SP. However, a deal for 130 mm 5SP IF billet from Vietnam has been heard at $527/mt CFR, done late last week. Such a high price has been explained by the limited allocation of 130 mm billet on offer at the moment. Buyers who do not urgently need to purchase are still targeting $515/mt CFR.
Also, information regarding a sale of 50,000 mt of Indonesian billet by a trader to Turkey has been widely discussed at $528/mt CFR in the market. Over the past week, around 70,000-80,000 mt were traded by the Indonesian mill to traders, with a part of this tonnage still for further sale to end-users in the future. “I am surprised that such a volume was traded to Turkey at such a low level. maybe it’s some older position. Dexin would not now consider below $495/mt FOB,” a trader said.
The reference price for ex-China billet has settled at $500-515/mt FOB, stable since last Friday. The average local billet price in China has gained RMB 23/mt over the past two days this week to RMB 3,523/mt ($496/mt) ex-warehouse, which reflects the cautiously optimistic sentiments in the market. “I am seeing the market as stable. Business is difficult as demand is not good, but sentiment gives support, so the market will not fall in the near future,” a Chinese trader said.
In Taiwan, offers from Russia’s Far East region are still at $515/mt CFR for August shipment, but bids have fallen further to $500-505/mt CFR “with US scrap prices in Taiwan dropping below $350/mt CFR,” a source said.
