The long-awaited return of China from its holiday has confused the market. Futures prices in China have moved down, which has weakened sentiments in the Asian market. As a result, real offers for billets in Asia have come down, contrary to the expectations of the whole market.
Ex-ASEAN billet offer prices are at $520-525/mt FOB, down $5/mt from last week. Even though the level is below that seen last week, by over $5/mt mt, it has been confirmed by a lot of sources. “Dexin is indicating its prices as of this morning at $520/mt FOB. And any lower price is rejected for now. The management is taking a wait-and-see approach,” a trader said.
Ex-China billet 3SP billets are offered at $535/mt CFR Indonesia at the lowest, which translates to $515-520/mt FOB. The market sources in Southeast Asia are assessing the workable levels at $530-540/mt CFR.
“We are still waiting to get good Iranian offers, but none yet”, a source said. An offer for ex-Russia high-vanadium billets to Taiwan has been reported at $552-555/mt CFR Taiwan. This is down $5-7/mt as compared to before the Lunar New Year. The tradable level for commercial billet in Taiwan is assessed at not above $525/mt CFR.