Posted on 08 Jun 2022
Iranian and Russian billet continue to weigh on the ASEAN import market, Kallanish notes.
Certain traders are offering Iranian 150mm 5sp billet at $600-610/t cif Thailand. A Thai trader thinks that they are inviting bids and that these offers are not firm. "Traders are trying to match the price idea from buyers," he says. Others say that current offers for Iranian billet are prevailing at $630-640/t cif Thailand.
Billet from Iran and Russia are bringing forth a "two-tier pricing" market," a regional trader says. Regional buyers in Southeast Asia have been pressing for lower prices for mainstream billet against lower-priced offers for Russian/Iranian mateirial. This is despite the fact that few are buying Russian/Iranian billet because of payment complications and risk concerns.
He and others heard that two 5,000-6,000t cargoes of Japanese EAF billet booked last Friday at $650-655/t cfr Manila. Offers for billet from Malaysia and Indonesia were prevailing at $665-670/t cfr at that time. The trader says that market uncertainties caused the trader to sell the cargoes at surprisingly low prices. Billet from these sanctioned sources are causing unpredictability in trade flows in addition to depressing regional prices, the trader says. Importers are placing orders for smaller cargoes which incur much higher freight charges unlike before.
This week, the market mood in Philippines has improved and suppliers are generally aiming to increase prices. A Vietnamese trader says Tuesday that he is still offered Vietnamese billet at $630/t fob but this was negotiable. Freight is around $45-50/t to the Philippines.
A Taiwanese trader heard that 35,000t of 150mm 5sp blast furnace billet from Indonesia was ordered last week at $660/t cfr. He is surprised because bids are as low as $620/t cfr. Russian billet is offered at $640/t cfr Taiwan, he adds. The same Indonesian mill is offering 5sp billet at $660/t cfr Jakarta, unchanged from last week, a Jakarta-based source reports on Tuesday. "But the market is still quiet," he says.
Source:Kallanish
