Offer prices for import billet in Southeast Asia have declined this week, following a brief increase seen earlier in August, as futures prices in China have been constantly moving down this week. Trading is reduced as buyers want to see where prices will hit the bottom, and the main focus is on negotiations for Chinese billet, which is the most competitive.
The latest offers for Chinese 5SP billet in the Philippines have been at $460/mt CFR at the lowest at the end of this week. This is down from two deals done at $465/mt CFR late last week for 5SP Vietnamese IF and Chinese BOF billets. “$465/mt CFR seems an old price. New offers are at $460/.mt CFR and bids are lower,” a Singapore-based source said. Another trader also said that now major buyers in the Philippines will target $455/mt CFR or so, to balance the previous higher deal price levels.
Also, a deal for Chinese wire rod grade billet has been done to Taiwan at $457-458/mt CFR. The wire rod grade billet usually has an extra of at least $5/mt.
Though most offers for 5SP from China have been voiced at $460/mt CFR by traders, discounts are possible. “This week bids here are at $450-455/mt CFR at best,” a Bangkok-based source said. One Indonesian source said that $455/mt CFR is tradable at the moment. However, some local traders are trying to push prices down to $445-448/mt CFR. Chinese origin billet is the most competitive at the moment, as cheap offers from Russia and Iran are rare and not below $455-460/mt CFR for base 3SP.
The SteelOrbis reference price has lost $5/mt over the past week to $450-460/mt CFR.
