Following the sharp drop of billet prices in China this week, offers have gone down in the Southeast Asian market, offsetting a part of the big rise last week. Most market sources believe that SE Asia will be a much better sales destination for exporters than China for the near future.
In the middle of the week, most offers to the Philippines were heard at $750/mt CFR, local sources said, down from $770-790/mt CFR last week. As a result, most buyers in Southeast Asia have decided to take a wait-and-see position, waiting for a further decline.
On Thursday, May 20, the latest offers for ex-Indonesia billet were reported at $730-740/mt CFR for both China and the Philippines, according to sources. “What goes up must come down,” a local source from Manila said, commenting on the waiting stance of buyers. Moreover, some offers for non-IF billet have been reported at $720/mt CFR Manila.
Indian IF billet was booked in the Philippines at $740-745/mt CFR early this week, but for now the tradable level for this material has already come down to $710/mt CFR maximum.
In other Southeast Asian countries “buyers are waiting for a clearer direction next week,” a source from Thailand said. A position BF billet cargo from India has been on offer at $725/mt CFR, while ex-Indonesia billet has been available at $720-730/mt CFR for June-July shipment. Among the lowest offers heard in the market has been an offer for Indian BF billet at $700-715/mt CFR to Indonesia.
Market sources are waiting for new prices for ex-Iran billet in Southeast Asia, with some traders already starting to test the market with levels below $700/mt CFR Thailand.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet prices in Southeast Asia has been settled at $710-740/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $725/mt CFR, down by $50/mt over the past week. Last week prices had added $80/mt.