Though bearish sentiments have been prevailing in the Asian billet market, import offers to Southeast Asian buyers have been viewed as not being low enough, so only rare deals have been heard and most customers have been waiting for further declines.
Buyers in the Philippines have been bidding at $515/mt CFR at the highest for 5SP BOF billet, versus offers at $520/mt CFR mainly. With the decline in FOB levels from ASEAN-based mills, higher offers seen at $525/mt CFR and above have been withdrawn. “No deals this week, but with some more decline they may appear,” a source from Manila said.
In Indonesia, the lowest offers for BOF/EAF billets have been reported at $515/mt CFR from Iran and China in particular, though market sources agree that this level may be available for most Asian open origin offers for 3SP billet. At the same time, the tradable level in Indonesia is closer to $505/mt CFR, as fixed in one deal for a distressed cargo from Iran last week, while this week at least one offer at below $510/mt CFR has been reported too.
In Thailand, offers for Asian billets are also at around $515-520/mt CFR, but “there is a rumor of billet selling last month at $500/mt CIF for about 50,000 mt, so for any higher offer price now customers won’t pay much attention,” a local trading source said. Another source added that some traders made bids at $510/mt CFR to test sellers, but “the market here still can't follow. End-users’ targets are at $490/mt CIF,” he added.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia has settled at $510-520/mt CFR, down by $5/mt over the past week.
