US billet prices have gone up in June, attributed mostly to the price increase in domestic shredded scrap.
The US billet market is somewhat steady with sufficient supply and relatively stable demand, however, US billet prices have followed the domestic shredded scrap prices to go up by $15/mt in the beginning of June. Re-rollers are still making regular billet purchases, but they are not buying significant tonnage and trying to maintain comfortable inventory levels.
Currently, US billet prices are in the range of $665 to $675/mt. Market insiders do not see a downward pricing trend on US billet prices next month and expect the billet prices will follow the domestic shredded scrap prices to go sideways to slightly up in July.
According to the US Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA), total billet imports into the US in May were 21,885 mt, reflecting a decrease of 1,073 mt from April. The primary billet exporters to the US during May were Mexico, at 11,606 mt; Canada, at 7,616 mt; Brazil, at 1,377 mt; and Japan, at 1,005 mt.
On the other hand, the latest USITC data show that the total amount of US carbon billet exported in the month of April was 34,551 mt, which represents a decrease of 20,946 mt compared to March. The primary countries that imported US carbon billet in April were: Dominican Republic, at 20,351 mt; Costa Rica, at 13,293 mt; and Canada, at 829 mt.