On Friday, August 12, one more deal for imported billet was made to China in line with the price range mentioned earlier this week. Nevertheless, the tradable prices in China are still assessed as too low for the majority of suppliers, with offers to other Asian countries like the Philippines or Taiwan being at higher level.
A contract for a small volume of 3,000 mt of ex-Japan billet has been signed at $507/mt CFR China on Friday, after a deal for the same origin was reported at $513/mt CFR earlier this week. In general, the contract price level is in the range of $505-513/mt CFR which has been reported by SteelOrbis as the reference price for this week, increasing by $4/mt from last week.
Though bookings for imported billet have resumed in China after a long silence, the trade volumes are very small and the overall market is very cautious. The tradable price in China is still too low for most major suppliers and compared to other Asian customers. Moreover, this latest ex-Japan deal is said to be done for SD295, which is not an equivalent to 3SP. Market sources said that it can be used only for small section production, not rebar, and that is why an initial offer for this material from Japan has been at relatively low level, at $515/mt CFR.
Most traders believe that the current tradable level in China could work at most for ex-Iran billet or some discounted billet due to quality, and even Russian suppliers, who are under sanctions, have been offering at higher levels. According to sources, major Russian suppliers have been offering billet to China at $520/mt CFR at the lowest and at $525-535/mt CFR to Taiwan. The offers are at $5-10/mt higher than reported early this week.
The last deal for ex-Russia billet to Taiwan was done at $500/mt CFR about 10 days ago, with no new bookings done as suppliers insist on higher levels.
Ex-ASEAN offers to China are at $535-540/mt CFR at the lowest, being out of any range of interest of buyers.