Prices for Indian billet have posted a sharp drop after the state-owned producer RINL closed its tender this week. The sharp drop in local billet prices in China and the overall downtrend in Asia has impacted the auction results.
A lot of 30,000 mt of 3SP/4SP billet has been sold to a trading company at $658/mt FOB, as SteelOrbis learned from market sources. The billet size is 150 mm, according to reports. This means that the reference price level for Indian billet has lost $22/mt on average from the level reported earlier this week at $670-690/mt FOB.
This cargo has already been offered to Southeast Asia at $700-715/mt CFR, which has been among the lowest the firm offers in the market this week.
The free fall in China’s rebar and billet prices this week has made importers stay away from imports. Bids have dropped to $680-690/mt CFR and some sources said that buyers’ price ideas have come to $650/mt CFR.
