Higher prices for ex-CIS billet have been accepted in the export market, as not only Chinese buyers have been looking for purchases, but a deal has already been done to Latin America.
A contract for 30,000 mt of ex-Ukraine billet has been concluded at $715/mt FOB base to Latin America, SteelOrbis learned from the market sources. Other buyers from Latin America are still in the market in negotiations. But large mills have already started to target $740/mt FOB.
The Chinese market is still strong, but today, on May 13, futures have posted declines. Rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange have closed at RMB 5,915/mt ($916/mt), down by RMB 178/mt ($27.5/mt) or 2.92 percent compared to the previous trading day (May 12). “Today the Chinese futures came down. So I am sure that it will dampen the sentiment to some extent,” an Asian trader said.
This has not impacted the spot billet prices in China yet. Today steel mills in Tangshan have increased billet prices by RMB 50/mt ($8/mt) to RMB 5,820/mt ($901/mt) ex-works. The level translates to $797/mt, if to exclude 13 percent VAT.
The tradable value for ex-CIS billet in China has been reported at $790/mt CFR, corresponding to $725/mt FOB Black Sea.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-CIS billet has been increased further by $10/mt from yesterday to $715-725/mt FOB, while last week prices jumped by $20/mt.
$1 = RMB 6.4612