Today, March 6, the leading Indonesian mill has increased its offer price for billet to $470/mt FOB for April shipment, up by $10/mt FOB from March 5 and up $15/mt over the past week. There have been no sales to the export market this week, the mill confirmed, but “it can be said that our domestic sales are very good”, a representative of Dexin Steel told SteelOrbis.
New slab offers for June shipment from the producer are at $495/mt FOB, surging by $15/mt from the previous day and by $25/mt since late last week. “Iranian slabs and billets are being delayed or cancelled, causing shortage of feedstock for Indonesian mills. In response, buyers are chasing prices to secure replacement cargoes,” a major Asian trader commented.
According to sources, Iran had at least 150,000 mt of semis booked for the Asian market last month. “The slab market is tight actually… The Asians will need a bit here and there for security. The ability of Russia to respond right now is pretty limited,” a market source said. There have been no firm offers for billets and slabs from Russia to Asia this week as the main Far East region-based Russian mill is sold out for April and even for May for some products.
In addition, Indonesian slab prices have been supported by strong HRC sales domestically with the previous large volumes having changed hands at $505/mt FOB. The new offers are expected to emerge at at least $515/mt FOB.
Dexin’s offer for wire rod is at $510/mt FOB for May shipment on March 6, surging by $15/mt from March 5 and up $25/mt week on week.
At the same time, even though overall sentiment in the Chinese market has improved, and demand internationally has also been a bit better, prices have posted only minimal changes. The majority of offers for Chinese 3SP billet are still at $450/mt FOB, sources confirmed, while slabs for the Asian market (for HRC production only) can be available at $460-465/mt FOB at the lowest.