A few deals for Chinese origin billets have been signed in Southeast Asia’s import market since late last week, when prices came to their lowest level this year. Today, some higher offers have been voiced by suppliers, following rises in futures prices in China on Wednesday, June 4.
At least two deals for 150 mm 5SP Chinese billet have been done in the Philippines at $440/mt CFR Manila, which is slightly down from offers heard last week at $441-445/mt CFR for this grade.
In addition, one of the Southeast Asian buyers has purchased 150 mm 3SP billets at $435/mt CFR, though some market sources believe that there have been a few bookings for 3SP at this level and up to 20,000-30,000 mt have been traded in total.
On June 5, offers for Chinese billets have increased by $5-10/mt from the abovementioned deals after futures increased in China on Wednesday and posted small changes today. Offers for 5SP in Manila have been at $445-450/mt CFR, while those for 3SP in Indonesia and Thailand have been at $440-445/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia has settled at $435-440/mt CFR, down by $2.5/mt on average from last week, as new offers have not been confirmed in deals so far.
