Southeast Asia’s import billet market has been following the downtrend seen in China this week. As a result, prices have fallen to and dropped below $450/mt CFR again.
Most offers for 5SP 150 mm billet in the Philippines have been reported at $450-462/mt CFR, which is down significantly from $470-475/mt CFR last week. “The current buying interest may be low as we don’t believe in a rebound in China in September,” a Manila-based source said. Offers for 5SP 130 mm billet are limited for now, and the Indonesian producer can offer this material only for December shipment due to repairs. “Traders may offer whatever they want, but I see $450/mt CFR for 5SP as the current price,” an Asian trader said, commenting on the offers to the Philippines.
In Indonesia and Thailand, offers for 3SP billet were reported at $450-455/mt CFR early in the week, while last week offers were not below $460/mt CFR. However, today, September 5, negotiations have been reported at $445/mt CFR in Thailand.
After deals done to Taiwan at $462-470/mt CFR for ex-China and ex-Russia materials, this week bids have dropped to $450/mt CFR at the highest. “Considering Chinese base offers already only at $425/mt FOB, deals will soon be at $440/mt CFR,” a trader said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported 3Sp and 5SP billet in SE Asia has settled at $445-455/mt CFR this week, down by $15/mt over the past week.
