Bids for import billet in China have fallen sharply, below $700/mt CFR, following the second day of sharp losses in futures prices in China. Buyers are cautious and waiting for the market to gain more clarity before resuming active negotiations.
Buyers’ fresh indications for import billet are at $680-690/mt CFR and some bids have been reported at as low as $660-670/mt, sources have said. “Now China has gone quiet, so traders who have positions are under pressure,” a trader said. Another source said that falling rebar futures prices have dragged sentiment down significantly and bids for import material are lower than local prices because of the worsening outlook for the coming one or two weeks.
Steel mills in Tangshan have cut prices for billet by another RMB 50/mt ($8/mt) today, August 3, to RMB 5,170/mt ($800/mt) ex-works, which corresponds to $708/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.
Today, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange have dropped by 4.5 percent or RMB 250/mt ($39/mt) to RMB 5,247/mt ($812/mt), after losing 5.5 percent a day earlier. Demand for rebar in the local spot market in China has been very weak and the outlook is not promising either. Today, the average rebar price has declined by RMB 73/mt ($11/mt) to RMB 5,280/mt ($817/mt) ex-warehouse.
$1= RMB 6.461