Despite a lack of trading activity in the international billet market, target prices of Indian billet exporters have risen much further by the end of this week. Higher local prices for both billet and rebar and the lack of pressure from inventory have contributed to the latest increases.
Major Indian billet suppliers have voiced a further increase in their offers, to $650-660/mt FOB, versus $630-650/mt FOB heard late last week. Most sellers’ price ideas are at the higher end of this range. “SAIL is selling billets in the domestic market at INR 49,000/mt ex-plant, so at approximately $655/mt,” a trader told SteelOrbis, adding that induction furnace mills on India’s west coast are offering at $660/mt FOB.
A number of Indian mills have announced rises in local rebar list prices by INR 1,500-2,000/mt ($20-27/mt) late this week, supporting sentiment in the billet market.
Also, there is information in the market that RINL, the main billet exporter from the country, is having “production issues with one of its blast furnaces, which means less availability in March,” a source said. There are possibilities that some already booked orders may be delayed, which, however, has not been confirmed yet.
New higher targeted prices for ex-India billets are said to be not competitive in Asia for now, as with freight at around $40-50/mt they translate to $690-710/mt CFR, while the tradable level in SE Asia was at $665-670/mt CFR this week. But the market is waiting for China’s return to see how much tradable prices will rise.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-India billet has been settled at $630-660/mt FOB, up from $630/mt FOB reported earlier this week and from $609-615/mt FOB in late January. The lower end of the range corresponds to the highest possible tradable level in the current conditions, while the higher end translates to the prices most widely targeted by mills.
