Posted on 30 May 2022
Philippine billet buyers are shrugging off import offers, Kallanish notes. Buying interest is thin because of weak demand and high inventories.
In Manila, offers for electric arc furnace or blast furnace 5sp grade billet from the ASEAN region are prevailing at $665-670/tonne cfr compared to $675-680/t cfr a week prior. Traders were inviting bids for 130mm billet from an Indonesian blast furnace mill at $665/t cfr earlier last week compared to $670/t cfr Manila on 20 May.
An importer hears buyers are bidding lower. “Buyers have enough stocks to wait out,” he says. Buyers can hold out for 1-2 months before they return to place orders. All buyers are therefore in wait-and-see mode, a regional trader says. “It is very painful for them as most of their inventory is within the $720-740/t cfr range,” he observes, adding that those who are still holding inventories booked at $780/t cfr are unable to restock.
There are no buyers at $665/t, another importer says. The Philippine rebar market is very weak because of the rainy season, rising interest rates, the current transitional government, as well as the surge in prices of construction materials because of higher-priced commodities including steel. Regional induction furnace billet is offered at $645-650/t cfr compared to $655-660/t cfr the previous week. Since the spread to EAF and BF billet is wider than the typical $10/t, a trader says he may book some induction furnace billet.
Offers for billet imports seem to have dried up on Friday, a local trader says. “I don’t know if they’re at the same level today still because I think many traders have taken a step back due to the sluggish market,” he comments.
Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $655-660/t cfr Manila, down $2.5 on-week.
Source:Kallanish
