A fresh deal for 30,000 mt of ex-Indonesia billet signed at $480/mt FOB for August shipment indicates that the reference price for ex-ASEAN billets has dropped by $10/mt from the previous contract price level a week ago. At least half of the volume is for a long position, market sources said. Though prices have declined, for most market sources this is viewed as a correction to “a more reasonable level.” Traders believe that prices from the ASEAN region will be stable at this level in the near future if the Chinese market remains stable.
Today’s SteelOrbis reference price for ex-China billet stands at $470-480/mt FOB for August shipment, up by $2.5/mt on average from late last week, mainly due to the rise in futures prices and with iron ore prices coming closer to $110/mt CFR again. “Since the gap between China and the ASEAN region has narrowed and iron ore is high, China’s billets will disappear,” a trader commented.
A deal for 20,000 mt of ex-China 3SP billet was rumored at $490-495/mt CFR to Indonesia last week, translating to near $475/mt FOB. This could not be confirmed by the time of publication, but a few sources agree that $490/mt CFR was available for short position cargo late last week.