Though indicatively import billet prices in Southeast Asia have been moving up amid sellers’ attempts to increase them, most buyers are still resisting the rises. Only occasional deals are happening in the region with insignificant price increases.
Offers for Asian 5SP billet have been reported at $520-525/mt CFR Manila for June-July shipment, while some sources have reported offers for the same grade at up to $540/mt CFR, which, however, have been assessed as too high for the current market. Offers have gained around $10/mt from last week. Customers in the Philippines see the tradable level as still being hardly above $510/mt CFR, so they have been staying out of the market. “It is hard to find cheap options now, but customers are afraid to pay more in the current market,” a trader said.
Also, an offer for 5SP billet from the Thai EAF producer has been reported at $515-520/mt CFR to Indonesia. One source said that this is better than the local offers, but still too high for customers. Market sources are waiting for new offers from Iran, which are expected to emerge at $505/mt CFR Indonesia.
The import billet business is halted in Thailand, as “Thailand won't pay even this price [$505/mt CFR] yet. All are looking for $490/mt CFR as the local rebar price doesn’t provide support,” a local source said.
In Taiwan, a deal for ex-Japan 3SP base billet has been reported at $510/mt CFR, up by $5/mt from the previous general offers in the market. About ten days ago a deal from Russia’s Far East region was done at $500/mt CFR, after which the seller increased its offer to $505/mt CFR and then up to $515/mt CFR lately.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in Southeast Asia has settled at $510-520/mt CFR, up by $10/mt over the past week, mainly amid increases in offer prices.