Chinese traders have continued to actively book imported billet and prices have increased in new deals. The lead times have been playing a very important role for importers recently. Chinese traders believe that the market could calm down after the recent sharp hikes.
An ex-Ukraine billet cargo for 40,000-50,000 mt has been sold to China at $393/mt CFR this week, up by $13-15/mt compared to the previous ex-CIS contracts signed last week. Negotiations for billet from Russia’s Far East ports have been at $387-390/mt CFR China early this week, but there is no confirmation that any deal has been done so far.
Indian billet has been traded at about $390/mt CFR for base grade, while the price for vanadium-added billet has been assessed by market sources at $10/mt higher.
A cargo of 40,000 mt of ex-Indonesia billet has been sold at $405/mt CFR China recently for June shipment and new offers for July shipment have already been heard at $410/mt CFR. The short lead time (about 4-6 days from Southeast Asian countries to China) and no import duty, which is two percent billet of other origins, have allowed the supplier to achieve such a high price in the deal. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, more than 120,000 mt of ex-Vietnam billet has been traded to China at $385/mt FOB (or about $390-395/mt CFR) last week. Subsequently, offers have increased to $395/mt FOB. However, starting from Tuesday, May 19, ex-Vietnam billet has already been offered at $400-405/mt FOB, with the available volume for sales for July shipment estimated by sources at 40,000 mt.
As a result, the tradable level for non-Southeast Asian billet has increased by $10/mt from last week to $390-395/mt CFR in China, while for Southeast Asian material it has added $10-15/mt to $405/mt CFR. Market sources are cautious in their expectations for the future as prices have increased too rapidly and time is needed to assess the further development of the market.