The Asian billet market has weakened in late December as some mills have decided to provide discounts to sell off February shipment volumes ahead of Chinese New Year. Traders have been the major buyers, while end-users have already left the market for holidays.
The major Indonesian producer has managed to sell 30,000 mt of billet or slightly more according to some sources at $433/mt FOB to three major Asian traders this week. The price is down from the official offer announced at $445/mt FOB since late last week. “I think they were under pressure as February [shipment allocation] was not completely sold and end-Jan is Chinese New Year, so February is a shorter month,” a Singapore-based trader said.
Indonesian billet has become among the most competitive after this move, as ex-China reference price is still at $440-450/mt FOB. “It is hard to sell semis lately, so ASEAN mills may want to get orders before Chinese sellers,” a Chinese trader said.
Malaysian mills have not dropped official offers from the previous $455/mt FOB and as a result, there have been no active negotiations held lately.