The mood in the Asian billet export market has remained stably weak with Chinese offer prices fluctuating in a limited range and further declines not excluded. However, the Indonesian mill has increased offers slightly since late last week and has started to offer for October shipment.
The SteelOrbis reference price for Chinese billet is stable at $420-430/mt FOB, with most offers reported at $425/mt FOB. “Iron ore port inventory has started to climb again, and EAF utilization rates have fallen below 70 percent. The market is stuck, and the uncertainty of war [in the Middle East] has raised more concerns,” a Chinese trader noted. Another trading source said that, even though Chinese prices have been stable and are still the most attractive globally, there have been limited deals so far as “Turkey’s buying is slow, the Southeast Asian market is waiting for a further fall, and we don’t know what will happen with shipments to the UAE.”
The latest ex-Indonesia billet offer has been at $430/mt FOB for October shipment. Market sources said that the remaining allocation for September shipment was sold at $425-427/mt FOB. But market sources said that this can hardly be assessed as a very positive sign, as “no one will book for October now, they will sit on this price,” an international trader said.