Though since last week bids for billet in Asia have lowered and sentiment has weakened, new deals for Indian billet have been concluded recently at higher prices.
Two contracts 20,000 mt each have been signed by the main Indian mill at $407/mt CFR with two Asian traders for the Taiwanese market, according to a number of sources. There have been no extras for quality in the contracts. At the same time, some sources said that the discharge port is still open and the material can be delivered to China if there is demand, SteelOrbis has learned. As reported earlier, the previous deal price level for Indian billet to China was at $400-403/mt CFR and customers from Southeast Asia, from the Philippines in particular, were bidding mostly at $400/mt CFR last week.
Recently, some offers for ex-CIS and ex-India origin billet have been at $410-412/mt CFR Manila with no new deals concluded. Some sources reported that offers at above $410/mt CFR from some exporters have included extras for a different chemical composition. Trading has been low as customers have still been trying to push prices below $400/mt CFR, while some major suppliers have decided to take a pause from offering.
A deal for ex-Vietnam billet from one of the BF-based mills has been rumoured at $407/mt FOB to China, which is equivalent to $415/mt CFR, but this information has been denied by the seller’s side. As SteelOrbis reported yesterday, last week a cargo of Vietnamese billet from the main Vietnamese exporter was traded at $404-405/mt FOB to China. A number of Chinese traders have said that the mood in China has not improved as futures prices have been going down recently.