The leading Indonesian mill has voiced its new billet offer for May shipment at $450/mt FOB, increasing it by $5/mt from last Thursday, but stable compared to the level seen early this week. Previous deals for April shipment billets were done at $440-445/mt FOB, sources said, so up slightly from contracts reported last week for the same shipment period at $433/mt FOB, $438/mt FOB and $440/mt FOB. Though some small quantity of April shipment billet from the Indonesian mill may still be available, the majority of order books for April is closed, making this product the most popular and sought-after in the mill’s portfolio at present.
Ex-Indonesia slab offers are at $440/mt FOB for April shipment, up by $5/mt from the middle of last week. No new deals have been heard so far after the previous one reported in early February at $430/mt FOB.
An offer for ex-Indonesia wire rod has been reported at $480/mt FOB for April, also moving up by $5/mt over the past week. This happened after a sale at $475/mt FOB early this week, but the sales destination has remained unknown by the time of publication and market sources doubt it is Southeast Asia. “The Southeast Asian market is bad; sentiments are really poor. Especially for wire rods, prices can't move,” an international trader said. The latest buyers’ price idea for imported SAE1006 wire rod in the Philippines has been at only $470/mt CFR.
In China, despite yesterday’s rumors that China will cut crude steel production by 50 million mt in 2025 and by another 30 million mt in 2026-2027, the steel market has been rather stable with a very limited upward bias. In particular, the reference price for ex-China billet has remained at $435-445/mt FOB, where the higher end reflects offers and the lower end reflects the tradable level. The new wave of protectionism seen in the recent announcements made by the US, Vietnam and South Korea has been preventing the Chinese market from recording a significant rebound.
