Though traders have been trying to push billet offers in the Southeast Asian market early this week, seeing some rebound in China, the market mood has remained bearish as demand is extremely weak and only low-priced deals have been reported in the market.
In particular, a contract for 10,000 mt of ex-Malaysia IF 3SP billet has been concluded in the Philippines at $495/mt CFR lately, down by $15/mt from the deal done for the same origin last week. Even though it is IF material and 3SP grade, the price has been assessed as extremely low and could also be because of “weird payment terms”.
Offers for 5SP EAF/BF billet into the Philippines are still at $535-540/mt CFR, stable from those reported earlier this week and up from last week’s $525-535/mt CFR. “Actually, there are no real offers now. Traders just want somebody to bid. There is no basis or fundamentals for an increase now,” a Manila-based trader said.
The SteelOrbis reference price has remained at $535-540/mt CFR.
