Asian billet export prices have remained rather stable this week as earlier attempts to push prices higher have largely failed and have not been reflected in deals. At the same time, transactions at lower levels done last week have been disclosed recently, which signals that the real market has not improved.
According to market sources, the latest deals for ex-Asia billet were done at near $420/mt FOB for June shipment or equivalent to this FOB price late last week. This has been assessed as a decline from the previous orders by the Indonesian mill at $424-425/mt FOB.
A deal for Indonesian 3SP billet for June shipment was heard at $420/mt FOB done on Thursday or Friday last week, “which was $7-10/mt below official offers, and I would say it is really low,” a Singapore-based source said. This volume is expected to find a place in Southeast Asia, when demand from end-users improves again.
Indonesian official offer prices increased by $5/mt FOB early this week to $435/mt FOB, but on Wednesday returned to $430/mt FOB, for July shipment. Market sources believe that the Asian billet market has failed to rise as expected ahead of the May Day holiday as futures prices have not been so strong and overall demand has been subdued.
In addition, there has been talk about two deals for Chinese billet done to Turkey late last week at $452/mt CFR for 3SP billet with manganese content of 0.60 percent and at $455/mt CFR for wire rod grade material. “If it is for early June shipment, I think at least one of them is a stock cargo, which a trader booked earlier [from the mill],” a large Chinese trader said. These CFR prices are equivalent to around $417-420/mt on FOB basis, excluding freight.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-China billet has been at $425-430/mt FOB this week, moving up by a tiny $2.5/mt on average from late last week. “Most offers are at $430/mt FOB, but nothing was sold at this level. The focus has been on the domestic market before the holidays,” another Chinese trader said.