The uptrend in the import billet market in Southeast Asia has gathered momentum over the past week, as China has resumed active imports, boosting prices in Asia. However, so far suppliers have managed to increase prices only in single deals to Indonesia and Thailand, while the overall buying activity has been limited in the region with customers in the Philippines just watching the market, while the country faced another typhoon on Thursday, November 12.
Offers for Southeast Asian and Russian billet have been heard at $470-475/mt CFR Manila this week, up by $15/mt on average from most offers a week ago. Some suppliers have even pulled out offers from the Philippines market by the end of the week, targeting $480/mt CFR in China. The latest deal was done for billet from Russia’s Far East region at $453/mt CFR to the Philippines last week and no transactions have been heard so far. “Definitely sellers are trying to ride on euphoria to push up prices,” one customer from Manila said. But “I think $465/mt CFR is the highest that the Philippines can accept now,” another source said.
The new typhoon Vamco (equivalent to category two) has hit Luzon Island in the Philippines - it cut power in some parts of Manila and paralyzed transportation in the capital. This is the third typhoon in the Philippines in less than three weeks. Construction works in Luzon have been hit hard as they have not recovered after typhoon Goni about 10 days ago.
A cargo of 30,000 mt of Russian SAE1008 billet from the Black Sea region has been sold to Indonesia at $465/mt CFR, which sources assess as the cheapest price than could be found in the market in the current conditions.
Bids from Thailand have remained low, but one deal has been reported for Iranian billet at slightly below $450/mt CFR. Last week, offers were mainly at $445/mt CFR, while bids were at $440/mt CFR. “At a price close to $450/mt CFR, some customers will book as no others could offer lower,” a local trader said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia has increased by $10-15/mt over the past week to $465-470/mt CFR.