Prices of ex-Asia billets have settled at lower levels on the last day before the start of the National Day holiday in China. This time, restocking in the local Chinese market has been slower than usual and inventories are rather high, providing no support for prices. Moreover, competition with cheaper Russian billets is still observed in Asia.
Ex-China billet prices are standing at $430-435/mt FOB on September 30, with the higher end of the range moving down by $5/mt compared to late last week. “China will be out for a week and they will start to offer higher after the holiday, but the current levels are lower than I expected,” an Asian trader said.
Ex-China offers for 3SP billet have been at $450-455/mt CFR in Indonesia and Thailand, but no new deals have been signed, as buyers have been out of the market or prefer cheaper alternative options. For instance, late last week or early this week negotiations for ex-Far East Russian billet have been held at $445/mt CFR. “Evraz is now active and can give lower than China,” a Thai source said.
In the Philippines, offers for ex-China 5SP billet have been mainly at $455/mt CFR, signaling a small decline from last week. At least one deal for 10,000 mt was signed at $455/mt CFR last week, down from the earlier reported bookings at $458-460/mt CFR. As reported earlier, customers in the Philippines are avoiding buying from Russia due to sanctions.
Following China, the main Indonesian mill has cut its offer for billet from $445/mt FOB in the middle of last week to $440/mt FOB and then to $435/mt FOB. The trading of ex-ASEAN billet in the region remains slow, but there were negotiations for a sizable volume to Latin America last week.
