Prices for ex-ASEAN billet have remained stable this week and trading activity has been limited as producers in the region have not been in a hurry to push volumes, seeing some positive sentiments in China, while buyers have become more negative due to the recent softening of scrap prices. The rises in local billet and futures prices in China after the holidays have been not enough to provide solid support for ASEAN mills.
The ex-Indonesia official offer prices have remained at $510/mt FOB for June shipment, stable over the past week, while the last deal price was still at $500/mt FOB for “a relatively small volume” last week. Market sources said that the tradable level for ex-Malaysia billet would also hardly be above $500-505/mt FOB, though mills in Malaysia are not active in offering and are only giving indications at $510/mt FOB and above. “China’s futures market has come up, but the ASEAN billet market is not really able to increase prices much and the mills in Southeast Asia are offering billets at $505-510/mt FOB at the moment and both demand and supply are reduced,” a Singapore-based trader said. Another large trading source commented that, to achieve $510/mt FOB in deals, ASEAN mills will need more fundamental supporting factors, as the major buyers globally are not ready for this.
The ex-China billet reference price has inched up by $2.5/mt on average after the holiday to $500-515/mt FOB amid the increases seen locally as buyers have needed to restock, but no fresh trades have been heard. “The market is relatively stable now and it might increase a little bit, but now the demand side is still watching, so there are not too many activities,” a China-based trader said.
Southeast Asia’s import billet market has also been silent. Offers are still at $525-540/mt CFR Manila, mainly for ex-ASEAN origin. The tradable level is still at $520/mt CFR, though buyers are looking for $510-515/mt CFR at the highest for non-toxic origins.
In Taiwan, offers from Russia’s Far East region have remained at $510-515/mt CFR, while buyers are bidding at $505/mt CFR maximum. “Taiwan’s scrap booking price from the US dropped by around $7/mt, so no one wants billet,” another source said.
