Asian slab exporters have been targeting further price rises in the global market, but buyers in the major sales destinations view the market as stable at best or even voice lower bids. Also, some low-priced Russian slabs are still available in Turkey and in some other markets, but this reflects more the generally weak market conditions rather than increased availability.
The Indonesian mill has voiced its new offers for June shipment slab at $530/mt FOB, moving up by $10-20/mt from the previous offers. But compared to the previous deal done around two weeks back, prices are $25-30/mt higher. Ex-Malaysia slabs have also been assessed at $530/mt FOB, at the lowest.
However, the major markets have been resisting any increase. In particular, official offers for ex-ASEAN slabs to Turkey at $555-565/mt CFR have been out of the range of interest of buyers. The ast deal done for a large vessel of Malaysian slabs was at $555/mt CFR to Turkey, reported last week, but at present bids for Malaysian material would not be above $545/mt CFR and are at $535/mt CFR maximum for other non-duty-free Asian origins. Chinese HRC grade slab offers have been at $540/mt CFR to Turkey, while the previous deal for slabs of this origin from stocks was rumored at $520/mt CFR or so. Market sources report some slight softening in the mood in the local HRC market in Turkey, which exerts some pressure on the slab market.
Also, in Europe, the price trend has remained stable, in line with that seen over the past three weeks. The latest deals for plate-grade slabs from China have been signed at $585-590/mt CFR to at least two buyers, while last week offers for this grade were at $590/mt CFR minimum and up to $600-610/mt CFR from some Chinese suppliers. There are also some inquiries for ex-Turkey plate-grade slabs in Europe as overall availability for this material is limited. There has been no information about HRC-grade slabs to Europe lately.
Availability of Russian slabs is still not high. The non-sanctioned Russian mill has not been offering officially, but buyers have reported its indications at $510-515/mt CFR Turkey. There could be some demand for these slabs as Asian offers have been too high lately. The sanctioned Russian mill has been offering at around $480-485/mt CFR to Turkey, declining slightly by $5/mt over the past two weeks, but buyers’ price idea for sanctioned Russian slabs stands at around $477/mt CFR and below. Also, there has been an offer of ex-Donbass slabs at $440-445/mt FOB, translating to $465-470/mt CFR Turkey. But some market sources believe that this material may go to Asia, where buyers usually accept only the lowest levels.