Prices for import billet have fallen further in the Southeast Asian market, impacted by the worsening sentiment in China. Customers have been staying away from purchases, as they believe prices have not hit the bottom yet.
The lowest offers to the Philippines have been reported from traders at $670-690/mt CFR for billet of different origins, including Indonesian, Vietnamese and Indian, SteelOrbis has learned, while last week there were no offers below $720-730/mt CFR. At the same time, bids have slipped to $660/mt CFR and most sources believe that some further price declines will be seen next week. “We haven't seen the bottom yet. Since there is hardly any buying now, the tendency is a buildup of inventory on the part of suppliers/mills that can cause oversupply and lead to a further drop in price,” a source from Manila said.
Offers from mills from Southeast Asia have been reported at $695-710/mt CFR to the Philippines and other countries in the region.
Lower prices for position cargoes from traders are likely to persist in the near future as sellers need to get rid of them amid different reasons. “The distressed cargoes are of Indian origin unable to berth in China,” one of the sources said. A few other traders confirmed that there are Southeast Asian origin cargoes, bought for China, and, after bids in China fell to $650/mt CFR maximum, traders have been trying to redirect these volumes.
Demand for import billets has been weak in Thailand and Indonesia as well. A trader has been inviting bids at $660/mt CFR for a stressed cargo of 42,000 mt of ex-Iran billet, but no taker has been seen for now.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia has come down by $40-45/mt over the past week to $670-695/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $682.5/mt CFR.
