Offer prices for ex-ASEAN billet have remained at the same high levels announced by mills last week. The main support is coming from the Chinese market, which has continued to improve gradually. At the same time, ASEAN mills are nearly sold out for December shipment, even though some of the latest deals have been done with some discounts, SteelOrbis learned from the market on November 21.
Ex-Indonesia 3SP billet offers are still at $520-525/mt FOB, but mainly for January shipment at the moment. The last deals for December shipment have been reported at $512-513/mt FOB, while at least one source said that there were negotiations at $508/mt FOB last Friday, though there have been no reports that a deal was done at this level. The previous contracts for ex-Indonesia billet were reported by SteelOrbis at $512-517/mt FOB last week.
The reference price for ex-China 3SP billet has settled at $525-530/mt FOB, up by $7.5/mt compared to late last week, while some offers have been heard at even as high as $540/mt FOB. “Currently, Chinese mills are a bit reluctant to offer for export as profits from sales [abroad] are not as good as home sales,” a source said.
The average local billet price in China currently stands at RMB 3,748/mt ($525/mt) ex-warehouse, up by RMB 83/mt ($12/mt) over the past week. The level translates to $464.5/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT.
In Southeast Asia’s import market, demand is still lagging behind and buyers have not been so ready to accept higher offers. The lowest offers for 5SP 130 mm EAF/BOF billets to the Philippines have been $530-535/mt CFR, though some traders are still keeping prices at $550/mt CFR, which is assessed as being too high and not realistic. An offer for SD295 grade billet from Vietnam has been heard at $526/mt CFR Manila, but there are “limited buyers for that grade,” a Singapore-based source said.
However, there have been offers for ex-Thailand IF billets to the Philippines at $510-515/mt CFR with the lowest level for “material from stock”. Though some traders believe this week buyers will not be able to book at this level and that suppliers will increase prices to a minimum of $520/mt CFR, there has been no confirmation about deals for IF billets. Another relatively attractive billet source in terms of prices has been Russia. The latest ex-Russia offers to the Philippines have been at $525/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for 3SP/5SP import billet in Southeast Asia has been corrected to $520-535/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $527.5/mt CFR, versus $520-540/mt CFR last week.