Ex-India billet trade activity has remained in the doldrums as sellers have not been submitting any offers since pessimism deepened after a government mill failed to successfully close an export tender, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Wednesday, October 18. Local billet prices in India have also declined, by $11-12/mt, but they are still better for Indian suppliers.
Sources said that no private mill was heard to be submitting offers following reports of a government mill failing to close an export tender for 30,000 mt of 150 mm billet and being forced to extend the last date for submission of bids.
Though not confirmed by the mill, trade sources said that the highest bid received ranged at around $450-470/mt FOB, even lower than the most pessimistic forecast of $480/mt FOB and the seller has had to extend the last date for submission of bids to later this week.
“The market is completely unrealistic from the sellers’ viewpoint. We are hearing deals in a key Southeast Asian destination at slightly above $500/mt on CFR basis. We have no clue how this is possible or sustainable for any producer,” an official at an Odisha-based private mill said.
“Even though the local market for semis is becoming weak in reaction to the long products market entering into an oversupply situation, we still prefer to keep out of exports at unrealistic and unviable prices,” he said.
According to market participants, smaller long steel producers have started to drop output by as much as 50 percent, triggering a sharp fall in merchant trade in semis and hastening the price downtrend.
In the local market, billet trade prices have slumped INR 1,000/mt ($12/mt) to INR 44,700/mt ($537/mt) ex-Mumbai and are down INR 950/mt ($11/mt) to INR 42,250/mt ($508/mt) ex-Raipur in the central region.
In this situation, the interest in imported billet in India has also eased, with the tradable level close to $500-510/mt CFR, versus previous deals at $520-530/mt CFR.
$1 = INR 83.30
