Posted on 09 May 2022
The Southeast Asian billet import market continues to weaken, Kallanish notes. Suppliers are eager to close deals, whereas buyers are preferring to delay their purchases. Offer prices moved down in the past week.
In Manila, Japanese electric arc furnace billet offers are at $745/tonne cfr, down from $760-770/t cfr in the last week of April. A leading Vietnamese producer is offering 150mm or 130mm square billet at $760/t cfr. Vietnamese blast furnace billet offers are at $720-725/t fob but suppliers are inviting firm bids, a Vietnamese exporter says. He has not however heard of any bids in the past week. Freight is at around $30/t from Vietnam to Manila.
Some trading sources are seeing offers for EAF and blast furnace billet from the region at $730-740/t cfr Manila. This includes Indonesian blast furnace 150mm 3sp grade billet at $730/t cfr, down from $775t cfr the previous week. “Sellers are willing to consider bids and will counter bids unlike before. It is a buyer’s market,” a Manila trader says.
Trading participants continue to discuss rumours of Russian billet deals in the region. Russian prices have been weighing down the regional market. Since Russia-origin purchases involve complex payment issues, their prices are at below market levels.
Russian billet was offered at $720/t cfr Manila during the past week. Traders are unable to confirm reports of a deal at $700/t cfr Manila. But some instead heard of a parcel for 90,000 tonnes of Russian-origin billet sold to Taiwan last week. The cargo, comprising several grades including 3sp base grade, closed at $650/t cfr Kaohsiung, going to two buyers, a Taiwanese trader says.
Some regional sources think the Taiwanese billet booking price sounds too low. But others say they had already heard that Russian billet was offered to China at $650/t cfr around two weeks ago. Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $740/t cfr Manila, down $17.5 on week.
Source:Kallanish
