Major ASEAN region-based mills have been insisting on higher export offers, which they announced last week. But while last week the main reason for the increase was the better sentiment in China, this week mills have been more confident as they have managed to sell some sizable volumes to distant markets, SteelOrbis has learned from the market on August 1.
Official offers for ex-Indonesia billet have remained at $515/mt FOB, stable after the mill hiked them by $10/mt early last week. But, this week, information about the latest deals has been disclosed. At least 30,000 mt of billet have been traded at around $510/mt FOB to Latin America, and an additional volume of 20,000 mt has been sold to a trader at $508/mt FOB. The previous deal prices were at $500-505/mt FOB, which shows that the market has improved. However, such an increase in sales and prices is also connected with the fact that the recent deals have been for distant markets, while “I don’t think it is for Southeast Asia, at least for now,” a Singapore-based traded said.
In total, over 50,000 mt of billet were traded by Dexin Steel last week, while, in addition to this, the producer has also managed to sell slabs and wire rod, so the total volume of sales is assessed at 100,000 mt at the lowest. A deal for slabs was been heard at $515/mt FOB and some sources believe it is also for Latin America, though this information could not be confirmed by the time of publication. Wire rod sales prices were at around $525/mt FOB, while now offers are standing at $535/mt FOB.
In Southeast Asia’s import billet market, there have been no new deals done, but it has come to light that, in addition to one ex-Saudi Arabia sale at $512-513/mt CFR Manila, another 20,000 mt from the same mill was traded at $522/mt CFR, also to the Philippines, last week. Most offers for Asian origins have been at $525-530/mt CFR and up to $540/mt CFR. The reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia has added $5-10/mt from last week to $520-525/mt CFR.
Ex-Far East Russia billet has been offered at $515/mt CFR Taiwan, with counter bids at $505/mt CFR. The previous sale to Taiwan from Russia was at $505-510/mt CFR two weeks ago and overall demand in the country has declined.
The ex-China reference price for billet has remained at $520/mt FOB on average, stable from last week with sellers being inactive in offering significant volumes. The average local billet price in China has increased by just RMB 15/mt ($2/mt) over the past week to RMB 3,645/mt ex-warehouse, which translates to $452/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT. So, the import reference price for billet in China has remained at $440-450/mt CFR.