Prices for imported billet have continued to go up in China this week as a number of new deals have been done. However, the pace of the price increase has been restricted by the local billet market price level. Overall import appetite for billet in China persists and not only traders but also producers have been in the market for purchases, which is going to support the billet market in Asia and beyond in the near future.
Around 40,000-50,000 mt of billet from Russia’s Far East region billet have been traded at $725/mt CFR to China this week and a number of market sources believe that the price included some extras.
Also, an Indian tender for 30,000 mt of 150 mm billet has been closed at $633/mt FOB and with the freight at $80/mt this corresponds to around $713/mt CFR. On Thursday, July 22, offers from Indian producers have been heard at $720/mt CFR.
Most Southeast Asian suppliers have been offering at $720-725/mt CFR, but this level seems to be too high for most Chinese buyers at the moment. Late last week, ex-Indonesian billet was traded at $710/mt CFR to China, while negotiations with a Vietnamese seller were at $713/mt CFR early this week. “Import prices seem to be still at $710-715/mt CFR in transactions,” an international trader said on July 21. “Our bids are still at $712-713/mt CFR, but offers are definitely at $720/mt CFR,” another trader said.
There has been a rumour of a sale of ex-Malaysia billet to China at $718/mt CFR, but most major sellers from the country have not confirmed this information by the time of publication.
“These two days the price is lower than the previous high… But producers in Asia who already sold for September are not in a hurry to sell at a lower price,” a trading source said on July 21.
Steel billet prices in Tangshan are at RMB 5,180/mt ($801/mt) ex-works, stable for the second day in a row. This price translates to $709/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.
The workable price level for import billet in China has increased to $710-720/mt CFR this week, up from $705-710/mt CFR last week, according to SteelOrbis.
$1 = RMB 6.4651