Ex-India billet prices have largely been kept stable over the past week, but trade activity has remained stalled with buyers in key destinations continuing to resist higher levels, while sellers have cited rising input costs preventing any adjustments to offers to push sales overseas, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Wednesday, April 15.
Sources said that ex-India billet prices have been maintained at higher levels of $480-490/mt FOB and, while demand is seen to be moderate in a few Asian regions, buyers have still been very price-sensitive.
The sources said that, though enquiries have been coming in from the Asian region, the discounted deals being sought were not working out, with sellers claiming that input cost rises, particularly energy, made any such price adjustments unviable.
The sources said that at least one large Odisha-based mill’s offer for 30,000 mt of prime concast billet was pulled back after sales negotiations failed to arrive at a consensus, with the buyer seeking a final contract price of $460/mt FOB as an adjustment to partially offset the high CIF (cost, insurance, freight)-based price driven by higher freight and shipping surcharges.
“Buyers and sellers face a logjam. Demand in most markets is not supportive of the current high prices and faces strong upside resistance. But sellers are facing rising inputs costs at a time when there is very little upside in terms of a workable sales price,” an official at a private integrated mill said.
“The local market still offers some pricing power for mills, and hence will remain the primary sales focus of producers,” he added.
