Prices for imported billet in Southeast Asia have remained stable since last week, but buyers have mainly been in a waiting position as the outlook is mostly bearish for the rest of the year. The absence of demand in China has been putting pressure on some regional suppliers.
The latest deals for ex-CIS billet to the Asian region have been at $640-650/mt CFR, in line with the previous contracts. Since the middle of last week, slightly more than 20,000 mt were sold in this range. “Buyers are quiet. They are still not ready to buy any big volumes,” a source from the Philippines said.
Some other suppliers, including those from Southeast Asia, have still been offering at around $660/mt CFR, stable from last week. “In terms of prime newly-produced material, the Russians are the cheapest,” an international trader said. Another large trader said that, though offers are flat, the tradable level is at $640-650/mt CFR only and bids even at this level are limited.
There have also been talks in the market that an Indonesian producer has been considering cutting prices to $630-640/mt CFR to get a sizable order as demand from China, which was the major sales destination for the supplier, has remained halted. “Dexin is holding back for initial offers, but is waiting for bids. I have a bearish view,” an Indonesian buyer said.There has been a contract reported by a trader for an ex-Iran billet to Indonesia at $625-630/mt CFR over the past week. The previous deal for this origin to SE Asia was at $620/mt CFR, but for earlier shipment. In Thailand, offers for ex-Iran billets have also been at $625-630/mt CFR, “but customers want to pay $620/mt,” a local source said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia (excluding ex-Iran billet) has remained at last week’s level of $640-650/mt CFR.