The local billet prices in China have dropped further on Monday, November 15, following the negative signs in the rebar market and further falls in futures. This has put additional pressure on the Southeast Asian billet market.
The local billet price from steel mills in Tangshan has dropped by another RMB 160/mt ($25/mt) from Friday to RMB 4,130/mt ($646/mt) ex-works on November 15. This level translates to $572/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.
In such conditions, the tradable import billet level in China has slipped to $565-570/mt CFR as the highest, down from $585/mt CFR seen late last week. These prices have not been achievable from any sources, market sources agree, but such a rapid fall in China has been still putting pressure on the billet market in Southeast Asia.
In Southeast Asia, offers for 3SP/5SP have been reported at $650/mt CFR, but last week this level has been available only from traders, early this week some mills have also started to voice it. “Buyers do not give any response for now,” a source said.
The reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia was $650-660/mt CFR last week.
$1 = RMB 6.3896