The situation in the Asian billet market has failed to change much over the past week as Chinese suppliers have been keeping prices relatively stable and buyers have still been waiting for discounts. The near-term outlook in China is still positive, preventing prices from falling, while billet sales from the ASEAN region have remained halted, with only slab negotiations reported from mills.
The reference price for ex-China billet stands at $465-475/mt FOB, stable on average, but narrowing by $5/mt from $460-480/mt FOB last week. Most offers are at $470-475/mt FOB, while customers have been insisting on prices equivalent to $460-465/mt FOB. “$470/mt FOB is the lowest in offers I heard today, but definitely selling pressure is increasing and thus we might see some traders offering aggressively… Regarding the stimulus, it might fuel sentiment but I doubt it will boost steel consumption significantly and, as Chinese output is again at reasonably high levels, we know what will happen sooner rather than later,” an international trader said. Another trader, based in Singapore, said he is skeptical on the new stimulus measures which may be issued during the 14th National People’s Congress, saying it is possible a downward trend will resume after November 8.
There has been information about a trader’s sale of Chinese billet at $490/mt CFR to an Indonesian end-user. Some sources said that the contract included both 3SP and 5SP, so the price was a little above the expectations of most customers - at $480-485/mt CFR.
The Indonesian mill has remained inactive in billet trading after announcing its official billet offer for February shipment at $485/mt FOB. The real tradable level for billets from the ASEAN region has been assessed by a number of traders at $470-475/mt FOB, but mills have been refusing to provide such levels, at least so far.
At the same time, one deal has been reported by the Indonesian mill for slab to Turkey. The final price has not been confirmed by the time of publication, but sources are assessing it as not being above $480/mt FOB, but most probably as being below this level.