A downward trend has prevailed in the Asian slab market in November as most regional suppliers have been struggling due to weak demand and the worsening of conditions in the finished steel markets.
Offer prices for slabs from ASEAN mills have been varying at $455-480/mt FOB, falling from $480-490/mt FOB in late October. One of the Vietnamese mills has been ready to give $455-465/mt FOB for January shipment slabs. As this mill’s material is only for HRC production, it has not been offered actively to Europe, while its offer to Turkey has been at $500/mt CFR. Another Vietnamese mill has not been active in offers and its price is assessed as closer to some Chinese offers, at $470-480/mt FOB.
The only deal for slabs has been heard for a Malaysian origin lot, sold at slightly above $500/mt CFR to Turkey, which translates to $470-474/mt FOB. Though this price is lower than the previous sales of Malaysian billets to Turkey, there have not been many sales lately and in general Asian slab exporters have been eager to sell, while freight for a large volume to this destination can be found at a relatively low rate. The lower slab price to Turkey can be offered only from Russia. There has been talk that some mills may find Russian slabs from a sanctioned mill at $450-460/mt CFR, but this has not been confirmed as the price looks low, according to a few market sources.
In Europe, the highest offers are still for plate grade slabs from China at $530-550/mt CFR, while the lowest are from the non-sanctioned Russian mill at $520/mt CFR. “Slab prices have been corrected down, but demand for plate is not moving,” a European source said.