Prices for ex-China billet have remained mainly stable since last week, even though demand is still limited. Suppliers have not been so active as they are waiting for buying to resume soon and at higher price levels.
Offers for ex-China billet have been staying mainly at $790-800/mt FOB, unchanged from last week and the lowest possible level has been at $780/mt FOB, sources have said. The number of offers is still limited as suppliers are still not sure if the government is going to impose export duty. However, given the recent news about the big export duty implemented in Iran, the billet supply volume in Asia is expected to fall. This could trigger an increase in demand for ex-China billets too and sales may restart. But market sources believe that this is possible only in case of Southeast Asian buyers accepting higher prices. “Raw material costs are strong, I don’t see any other option [but to sell abroad at higher prices],” a trader said.
Ex-ASEAN billet offers from mills have been reported at $770-780/mt FOB, slightly better than ex-China prices.
As a result, these prices have resulted in offers to Southeast Asia at $815-825/mt CFR for EAF and BOF billets for the ASEAN region. The latest deal to the Philippines was done at $815/mt CFR for ex-Vietnam EAF billet last week.
The average billet price in China has been at RMB 4,870/mt ($764/mt) ex-warehouse on April 12, and, though it is up by RMB 12/mt ($2/mt) from the previous day, it has indicated a RMB 38/mt ($6/mt) decline over the week. This level translates to $676/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT. The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in China has been settled at $670-680/mt CFR, down by $10/mt over the past week, taking into account the tradable level assessed by buyers.