The leading Indonesian mill has increased billet offers by $5/mt today, December 1, though just yesterday the producer had made a decision to cut prices.
The current offers for 3SP billet from Indonesia are at $520/mt FOB. Despite the increase by $5/mt compared to yesterday, the level is slightly below $520-525/mt FOB seen late last week. “They adjust prices according futures, taking in into consideration the morning and evening indications,” a Chinese trader, working with Indonesian billet exports, said. Today, rebar futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange have risen by 0.95 percent.
However, a number of market sources believe that the main reason for withdrawing the lower offers for billets was the finalization of sales of other products, which are important for the producer. In particular, according to sources, the Indonesian supplier has managed to sell at least 20,000 mt of wire rod at around $535/mt FOB, down from the initially reported offers at $550/mt FOB, but signaling that the mill has managed to sell finished products. Also, some sales have been reported at $540/mt FOB by the end of the week, though there has been no confirmation of whether they were from Indonesia or from other Southeast Asian country. “While billet sales are not so good, I think they want to hold the price firm at $520/mt FOB first as other sales are better,” a Singapore-based trader said.
In addition, there has been talk about slab negotiations by Indonesia at $540/mt FOB, slightly down from offers heard last week at $550/mt FOB.