Prices for ex-ASEAN billets from the major mills in the region have increased this week and have returned to above $500/mt FOB, though the market has not accepted the new level and the last deals were still reported below the level in question.
The official offers for ex-Indonesia billet have increased by $5-10/mt over the past week to $500-505/mt FOB. “They don’t want to accept anything below $500/mt FOB now, but mainly because of China, not because of a demand hike,” an international trader said. However, the main Indonesian mill has failed to achieve the higher level in deals. In particular, the last two deals for ex-Indonesia billet were at $495/mt FOB and $497/mt FOB last week, according to sources. “Nothing higher was sold this week,” another source said. Ex-Malaysia billet offers have been reported at $505-510/mt FOB.
The upward push for ex-ASEAN mills has again been coming from the Chinese market. Ex-China 3SP billet offers are at $510-520/mt FOB, stable from last Friday, after increasing by $10/mt. A number of supportive measures for the real estate market in China have been positively impacting the mood in the market, though local billet prices in China have still been increasing cautiously, given the high levels of steel production across the country. Spot billet prices in China average at RMB 3,583/mt ex-warehouse, up by RMB 70/mt ($10/mt) over the past week. This level translates to $442/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.
As for the import billet market in Southeast Asia, offers have moved up according to mills’ announcements, but bids have remained at low levels. In particular, most traders’ offers for Asian 5SP billet have been starting from $520/mt CFR Manila this week, while last week it was possible to get $510/mt CFR. However, the tradable level is still assessed as being at a lower level, not above $505-510/mt CFR.
Some Southeast Asian importers are still looking for cheaper alternatives. In particular, a deal for 30,000 mt of ex-Iran billet has been reported as done to Thailand at $498/mt CFR Thailand, while some traders report that the price of $495/mt CFR could also be found from traders.
$1 = RMB 7.1783