Offer prices for import billet in Southeast Asia have hit and exceeded the $500/mt CFR mark since Monday this week, when China hiked prices before leaving for its long holiday. Buyers have been cautious and no serious negotiations have been held lately. There are expectations that higher billet offers will continue to be seen over the coming two weeks.
Offers for 5SP billet from traders are at $500-510/mt CFR Manila, moving up by $30/mt compared to last week. There have been no reports of new deals, though market sources agree that they will be “near $490-500/mt CFR” if someone needs to replenish stocks in the coming weeks.
The material purchased by traders from the Indonesian mill at $465/mt FOB first and $481/mt FOB later has not been sold to end-users yet, according to market sources. “They [traders] are just keeping it in the bag for the time being. It is for January [shipment], they can wait,” a trader said.
Offers for 3SP billet have been heard at $495-500/mt CFR to Indonesia and Thailand, also with no deals done. The ex-Iran billet price has been assessed at $490/mt CFR to Southeast Asia, while for over a month Asian origins were much more competitive than Iranian billet in the Asian region.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia has settled at $490-505/mt CFR, increasing by $32.5/mt on average over the past week.
