Prices for Asian billet in the international market have remained under pressure, but overall discounts from major exporters have been too small to attract buyers, who are waiting for further declines.
The ex-China billet reference price has officially remained stable at $420-430/mt FOB since last Friday, but market sources said that most offers are at $420-425/mt FOB. “I believe we will see $410/mt FOB soon,” a trader said. “Asian buyers are really just sitting on the sidelines,” another Asian source said, adding that most negotiations are held for distant markets. Some sources said that there have been a few deals done by traders to Europe and the Middle East, but the details have remained unclear by the time of publication. The tradable level for these destinations for Chinese origin billet has been at $455/mt CFR, according to market sources. Offers for Chinese billet to Turkey have been at $458-460/mt CFR, but no new deals have been reported so far.
An Indonesian mill has cut its billet offers slightly - by $2/mt since late last week to $424/mt FOB. “If demand stays weak, they will get hungry by May, and maybe will try to drop prices below China’s levels,” another source said.