Prices for import billets have increased in the Southeast Asian market over the past week, as confirmed in recent bookings since some customers have needed to restock, market sources confirmed to SteelOrbis. Nevertheless, the improvement has not been seen in all countries in Southeast Asia.
A number of bookings has been reported to the Philippines market since late last week, with deal prices for Russian billet reaching $600-605/mt CFR first and even slightly above $605/mt CFR in the middle of this week. “The market is a little better because our dry season is starting and construction normally picks up. But our Covid infection number is exploding, which may result in some lockdowns down the road,” a re-roller said. A number of sources confirmed that another supplier of Russian billet has been selling at $595/mt CFR Manila and one bid has even been reported at $592/mt CFR.
The higher prices at $600-610/mt CFR have been accepted by some customers in the Philippines and Taiwan, while most market sources in Thailand and Indonesia have been assessing the market level as still being below this level. “We don’t see an improvement at all. The price workable here is $590/mt CFR max.,” a large Indonesian producer said.
“With the Thai currency becoming weak, buyers couldn’t afford billet. It is hard to even announce a rebar price increase,” a Thailand-based trader said. A long steel producer from Thailand also added that the market price is still at $590-595/mt CFR and that demand has not shown any improvement.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia has increased by $5-10/mt since last week to $595-610/mt CFR.
Billet suppliers in Southeast Asia have been mainly focused on the Chinese market, offering at $610/mt CFR minimum, but mostly above this for 150 mm 5SP billet. “$610/mt [CFR] is the current [tradable] level for China, so Southeast Asian [importers] have to adjust,” an international trader said. A sale of ex-Malaysia billet was at $595/mt CFR China, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. The workable price level for non-ASEAN billet in China has been assessed at $595-600/mt CFR China at the moment.