Today, Thursday, September 2, a new deal for import billet has been reported in China from a non-traditional supplier, namely, Brazil. And though the price level in the deal is much lower than the previous deals signed earlier this week in China, market sources agree that the market is more stable at the moment, rather than declining.
A contract for 40,000 mt of 130 mm billet has been rumoured at $665/mt CFR and a few sources have confirmed it as having been done, SteelOrbis has learned. Some sources said that the billet was with the random length of 11,300-12,000 mm, and, in addition to 40,000 mt of 130 mm material, the cargo will also include 10,000 mt of 160 mm billet. Most market sources agree that this deal price is lower than the general market level in China, “but frankly it's not impossible. They [suppliers from Brazil] come out of nowhere and usually export one big vessel to Asia,” one trader commented.
Most ex-ASEAN suppliers are still asking for $690/mt CFR and are assessing the tradable price level to China at $680-685/mt CFR. Early this week, an ex-Indonesia billet cargo was sold at $685-687/mt CFR, as reported by SteelOrbis. “I see the market as stable now. This [sale from Brazil at $665/mt CFR] is a big surprise as even Asian IF-based sellers are asking for $675/mt CFR,” an international trader said.
The local billet price in Tangshan is standing at RMB 5,020/mt ($777/mt) ex-works, stable compared to August 31, but up RMB 20/mt ($3.1/mt) today. This level corresponds to $688/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.4594