Prices for ex-China billet have remained the most competitive in the Southeast Asian market early this week and traders have continued to offer low in short positions, reflecting the ongoing bearish sentiments in the market. As a result, the leading mill in the ASEAN region has again cut prices to accelerate sales.
The latest deals, for 50,000-60,000 mt of billets for May shipment, have been done by Indonesia-based Dexin Steel at $480/mt FOB, according to market sources. This level is $7-9/mt below the previous prices in deals reported to have been done late last week and early this week and $10/mt lower than the previous offers at $490/mt FOB. The final sales destination for these volumes is unclear, but there is market talk that they are intended to cover the previous short positions of traders. This FOB price level translates to around $515/mt CFR Turkey for at least 40,000-50,000 mt, while it is equivalent to $500/mt CFR in Southeast Asia. The ex-China billet price was at $480-485/mt FOB yesterday, before sellers left the market for the holidays until next week.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import billet in Southeast Asia has softened further, to $490-510/mt CFR, with the average being $5/mt lower than last week. The lower end represents the latest sizable ex-China bookings done to Taiwan at $490-495/mt CFR, while a few buyers in Indonesia have also confirmed that traders’ offers have been at $485-490/mt CFR this week. Some suppliers still do not consider giving below $500-505/mt CFR Thailand, but market sources believe that bids are not heard from buyers at the mentioned levels.
In the Philippines, the latest offers for Asian origin 5SP 150 mm billet have been at $500-510/mt CFR, while buyers are assessing the current workable prices at not above $500/mt CFR. Deals are limited at the moment as the market may fall below this level next week, buyers believe.