Most major ASEAN region-based mills have been insisting on higher billet prices in Southeast Asia over the past week, seeing a rebound in China. But demand has remained slow and most buyers can agree to purchase only with discounts, according to market sources.
In the major Southeast Asian market, the Philippines, most offers for EAF/BOF billet from traders and mills have been stable compared to last week at $540-550/mt CFR. The lowest end of the range still corresponds to 3SP and from traders, while most ex-ASEAN mills have been asking for $545-550/mt CFR or higher. A deal for ex-Malaysia billet has been discussed in the market at $540/mt CFR Manila over the past week, but this could not be confirmed by the time of publication. Most sources said that it is too low for any mill, while sources in the Philippines said that the price is good for a trader: “This is a good price for the seller. I thought buyers in Manila would pay just $530/mt CFR,” a trader said. “Billet prices are holding between $540-550/mt CFR Manila. But demand for billet remains so-so,” a local re-roller said.
A major Indonesian mill has decided to cut its offer price, which had hit its highest level of $525/mt FOB last week to $515/mt FOB this week. This price translates to around $545/mt CFR Manila, taking into account the slightly decreased freight in the region. Some ASEAN mills have still been holding official offers at $520-530/mt FOB, but in the current market conditions these levels have been called “not realistic.”
After sales of over 20,000-30,000 mt of IF billets to the Philippines two weeks ago at $510-515/mt CFR, no fresh deals have been reported so far. “With local scrap prices [in Thailand] increasing by $40-50 and the US dollar weak, I didn’t hear that any mill can export at this price anymore,” a source from Bangkok said, commenting on the IF sales. Early this week, the lowest IF billet offer was $525/mt CFR Manila.
In Indonesia, the latest deal was for 40,000 mt of ex-Iran billet at $500/mt CFR last week. Ex-Iran billet prices were the most competitive in the market. Offers for ex-Malaysia billet from traders have been heard at $530/mt CFR in both Indonesia and Thailand.
Traders have been offering ex-Iran billet to Thailand at $500-510/mt CFR this week and, even though this is down by at least $10/mt from the previous offers, “Customers want to buy lower than $500/mt CFR,” a local source said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for EAF/BOF imported billet in Southeast Asia has settled at $535-545/mt CFR, up by $5/mt over the past week.