Import billet prices in Southeast Asia have softened further due to continued weak demand as buyers are not willing to rush their purchases and are waiting for lower prices. Though most suppliers are not ready to sharply cut their offers, a price decline in the coming deals is inevitable, most market sources believe.
The SteelOrbis reference price has fallen by $5-10/mt from last week for now to $580-590/mt CFR. The midpoint at $585/mt CFR has been confirmed by a number of sources as a “reasonable level,” but the main problem has remained the lack of enquiries and of firm bids from importers.
An offer for billet from Black Sea has been widely heard at $583-585/mt CFR Manila recently. Some sources have said that a deal has already even been closed at this level, but this information has been denied by local market sources in the Philippines with whom SteelOrbis spoke. “It was only an offer. Nobody will book now as scrap has gone into a free-fall and there is no sign yet whether it will stop or continue to fall,” a Manila-based trader source said.
The offers coming from traders and BF-based mills are at $590-600/mt CFR at the moment. Most mills have been resisting rapid price cuts in the current market. The latest price assessment for billet from Russia’s Far East region has been heard at $595/mt CFR. The lowest offer for ex-Indonesia billet has been reported at $590/mt CFR to the Philippines. Vietnamese billet, of BF or EAF origin, has been offered at $580/mt FOB, which corresponds to $590-595/mt CFR for Southeast Asian customers. IF billet from Southeast Asia has been offered at $575/mt CFR Manila, according to traders.
“Prices keep dropping. Customers wait and watch where the bottom is. Traders who have long positions try to get rid of them,” an international trader said. Some traders have been trying to collect bids at $580-585/mt CFR, but there is still no information about deals being done.
Chinese billet sellers have become less aggressive as the latest price indications have remained at $590/mt CFR the Philippines, the same as a week ago. Some increase in prices in the local market and possible production cuts have been preventing export prices from dropping, sources have said.