Prices for import billet in Southeast Asia have declined slightly this week mainly due to lower offers from China, following the slide in Chinese futures prices early this week. Most buyers are not very eager to purchase, at least for now, as they want to see if some further discounts are possible.
In the Philippines, traders have been offering 150 mm 5SP billet at $455/mt CFR, a number of market sources confirmed, which is down by $5/mt over the past week. “There are offers, but not deals at this level. Maybe buyers are waiting for $450/mt CFR now,” a local source said.
Also, the tradable level for 3SP billet in Thailand and Indonesia has been assessed at $455/mt CFR, though sellers have been keeping offers at higher levels - $457-459/mt CFR. “We do not see this price level [$455/mt CFR] in the market. But this is just because we are not in a position to buy,” an Indonesian source said.
Many Southeast Asian customers have been saying that the majority of offers in the market are for Chinese material, while ASEAN offers are either absent or high (like ex-Indonesia 3SP billet at $467-470/mt CFR). “We do feel that Iran is not in the market with offers, so there are not many cheap options left for buyers,” a trader commented. A mill in Russia’s Far East region has been in negotiations with regular buyers in Taiwan at $440-442/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia stands at $455-459/mt CFR, down by $3-6/mt over the past week.
