Prices for ex-India billet have increased, as seen in the latest tender by one of the state-run mills late last week.
A lot of 30,000 mt of 150 mm 3SP/4SP billet was sold at $518.5/mt FOB late last week, according to trading sources, up by $7.5/mt compared to the previous tender by the same mill concluded earlier in the week at $511/mt FOB. The trader who offered the highest bid may sell this material to China, Thailand or Sri Lanka, SteelOrbis has learned. But in the current market conditions, the most favourable sales destination will be China, due to improved demand for import billet and increasing prices. At the moment, bids for non-Southeast Asian billet in China have improved up to $565/mt CFR, as the latest tradable value for ex-Indonesia and ex-Vietnam billet has been reported at $580/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-India billet has been increased from $510-520/mt FOB last week to $520/mt FOB.