Prices for import billet in Southeast Asia have posted a significant decrease over the past week amid tough competition with Indian and Iranian sellers aiming to push volumes, while Chinese traders have also been active even though the local Chinese market is showing some signs of stabilization.
A number of market sources have reported that Indian 5SP IF billet has been traded to the Philippines at $477-480/mt CFR. And though some sources said that this business was done in late June, a few market sources said that last week negotiations at $480/mt CFR were held and, after the news spread in the market, this has become the new price level. As for Chinese 5SP BOF billets, offers from traders have been at $483-485/mt CFR, down from $490/mt CFR seen at the lowest last week. “I am considering the real market at this Chinese price level, as IF should be at least $475/mt CFR now to attract anyone, and there are not many buyers for IF billets,” a source in the Philippines said.
Even though the Chinese billet reference price is stable at $455-465/mt FOB, traders have been offering in short positions, as they expect that lower prices will be available in a few weeks due to the offseason.
As for 3SP billet in Southeast Asia, the market has been discussing a rumor about a deal for ex-Iran 5SP billet to Indonesia at $481/mt CFR. This information has been strongly denied by a number of sources. “This price is too high. Even if it is true, it was done weeks ago and the buyer renegotiated this,” an Asian trader said. The fresh offers for 3SP billet from Iran have been heard at $470-475/mt CFR in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, while at least one source mentioned $465/mt CFR in firm negotiations to Thailand. “But no customer is interested in discussing Iranian billets as the US and Iran have started firing again. I think that $465/mt CFR could be buyers’ price idea,” a Bangkok-based source said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia (excluding sanctioned Iranian material) has settled at $470-485/mt CFR with the midpoint at $477.5/mt CFR, down by $10/mt over the past week.
