Prices for import billet in Southeast Asia have slipped further this week, with some deals done for mainly Chinese origin semis, which have remained among the cheapest in the region. The outlook is cautiously negative even despite some rebound in futures prices in China this week.
The offer prices for 5SP 150 mm billet from traders from China have been reported to the Philippines at $475/mt CFR for January shipment, versus $480-482/mt CFR last week, and some sources said discounts of up to $5/mt are possible on firm bids. At the same time, rare offers for 130 mm, the most popular in the Philippines, have been at $480/mt CFR and, with the limited supply, nothing below $475/mt CFR is possible, according to market sources. “So far Chinese traders offering Chinese billets are more aggressive, while Malaysia enjoys a zero tariff in Turkey, so it is natural that they will concentrate their steel exports there with a price premium,” a Manila-based source said. As official offers for Indonesian billet are still at $470/mt FOB for February shipment, they have been assessed as not being workable and reflecting the current market, translating to $490-492/mt CFR Southeast Asia.
One booking for a small volume of Chinese 3SP 150 mm billet was heard to the Philippines at $465/mt CFR early this week. Also, apart from Chinese billets, there has been a rumor about an ex-South Korea billet sale at $470/mt CFR Manila, but there has been no confirmation by the time of publication and the market sources said that, if true, it would be 5SP billet. “In the best-case scenario, the rebar business is just fighting to breakeven,” a re-roller in the Philippines said.
As for Indonesia’s import billet market, there have been no new deals reported after a sale of 5SP Chinese billet with high manganese content at $475/mt CFR and 3SP billet at $463-465/mt CFR, reported earlier this week.
“It’s very hard to predict now, but there I think there should still be room for a further fall even though FOB prices from China increased slightly from Tuesday,” a Singapore-based trader said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia has been corrected down to $463-475/mt CFR, retreating by $6/mt over the past week.
