Following sharp losses in the rebar spot and futures prices, slump in iron ore prices and critically negative moods in China, billet quotations have also followed the downtrend. As a result, the tradable level for imported billet have dropped to below $500/mt CFR, making China out of the import market as even the most flexible Russian billet exporters till now have been resisting to cut prices so much, SteelOrbis has learned from the market sources on July 15.
The average local billet price in China has hit RMB 3,680/mt ex-warehouse on July 15, down by RMB 98/mt ($15/mt) over a day and RMB 338/mt ($50/mt) over the week, according to SteelOrbis. This level translates to $482/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.
In the current conditions, the tradable level for imported billet in China has tumbled to $475-485/mt CFR, being $35/mt below the level reported early this week and $55/mt below recorded last Friday. “I don’t think Chinese traders will make any bids now,” a source said.
At the same time, there have been no visible changes in offers as Russian suppliers, who are the most flexible in terms of prices, as they have a lack of market for sales due to the Western sanctions, have been not willing to make such sharp cuts. Previous offer level to China has been heard at $540/mt CFR China and no further offers have been available.
Offers for ex-Russia billet to Taiwan have been heard at $560-565/mt CFR, down from $575/mt CFR reported last week. However, taking into account that Asian traders have been offering position cargoes of ex-ASEAN origin billet at $550/mt CFR already, this ex-Russia offer has not been competitive in Taiwan.
