US domestic long product mills regained their footing after a deluge of imports shook up the market in Q1, with stable rolling schedules and solidifying spot prices moving into Q2. As such, the US domestic billet market is experiencing similar stability, with prices not changing much since last month--billet prices are still around $630-$640/mt ($572-$581/nt) ex-mill, with most transactions taking place at the lower end of the range. Demand for billet is not expected to vacillate either way in the coming quarter, which will likely keep prices neutral.
Availability, however, is still relatively loose, and some US domestic mills have been boosting their exports offshore at prices slightly less than what has been seen so far this year; SteelOrbis heard of a sizeable ex-West Coast shipment to Asia at $650/mt CFR. Meanwhile, imported billet continues to be a miniscule piece of the US billet activity pie, but nevertheless, SteelOrbis has heard of an offer from Russia into the US at $660/mt CFR, and offers from Mexico slightly below. But according to one trader, such offers are "pointless," as "there's plenty of tonnage in the US to go around, for much lower prices."