Prices for imported billet in Southeast Asia have posted some declines this week, mainly due to the decline in bids and lower offers for short-position material from traders, which have emerged again. Traders’ pessimism about the near-term situation contrasts with ASEAN region-based mills’ positions, as they are mainly either keeping prices stable or are even trying to voice higher offers, hoping that the market will resume a rising trend soon.
According to SteelOrbis’ information, the most competitive offers from traders have been reported to the Philippines at $540-550/mt CFR and at least one source said that a Chinese trader has been offering at low as $535/mt CFR for 3SP billet, but all participants agree that it was for a short-position sale aimed at “testing the market”. No fresh deals have been heard since the last trades for ex-Indonesia and ex-Malaysia billets at $548-550/mt CFR, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. “The US has increased interest rates by 75 basis points. The currency in effect depreciated further. The result of this is the lower prices of any steel commodity,” a local trader commented.
At the same time, in the middle of this week higher offers for ex-Malaysia billets have been reported to the Philippines - at $560/mt CFR for 3 SP and $565/mt CFR for 5SP. Most market sources believe that these levels are too high and do not represent the current market situation. “I see the maximum bids at $540/mt CFR,” one trader said. “Not all suppliers target higher prices. But definitely some do believe in improving demand and higher prices coming,” another source said. Official offers from mills from Indonesia and Malaysia have been reported at $530/mt FOB.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia has settled at $540-548/mt CFR, down from $545-550/mt CFR. The higher end of the range corresponds to the latest deal for ex-Malaysia 5SP billet heard in Manila last week, as reported earlier this week.