Posted on 31 Oct 2022
Low-priced Chinese billet continued to be a talking point last week in Southeast Asia, Kallanish notes. Market sentiment is soft amid fears the market will continue to slip.
An offer for 150mm 3sp grade blast furnace Chinese billet for December shipment was quoted at $500/tonne cfr Manila. The supplier of that offer, which names five Chinese mill origins, is also inviting bids at $495/t cfr. The same cargo – 10,000 tonnes is stated – is being offered at $510/t cfr Ko Sichang, Thailand, and is welcoming bids at $500/t cfr and up.
There are few re-rollers in the Philippines which use 3sp 150mm billet, “so the price will surely have to be very attractive to get interest,” a Singapore trader says. But despite the lack of popularity for this grade and size billet, the sub $500 price is depressing sentiment in the overall market. The offer “does not bode well for billet prices”, a re-roller says.
Chinese billet resurfaced in the Philippines a week prior, with 150mm 5sp grade Chinese billet ordered at $520/t cfr Philippines on 21 October.
Last week, traders were seen including Chinese billet, in addition to ASEAN billet, as possible origins for their offers which specify open-origin material. Such offers for 120/130mm 5sp grade blast-furnace or EAF billet are tagged at $520-530/t cfr Manila. A bid at $515/t cfr will be accepted, the re-roller observes.
Vietnamese induction furnace 130mm 3sp/5sp billet was initially offered at $510/t cfr Manila on Thursday, but sources heard the offer was later lowered to $500/t cfr. A Manila trader believes the general billet market will “more likely than not” fall below $500/t.
Blast furnace 150mm 5sp grade billet from Malaysia for January arrival is currently offered at $520/t cfr Jakarta. An Indonesian mill manager is concerned that prices are coming down quickly and attributes this to weakness in the Chinese domestic market. Indonesian 150mm 3sp grade billet for end-December arrival was offered at $530/t cfr on 26 October. Traders estimate a $10/t premium for 5sp over 3sp grade.
Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $515-520/t cfr Manila, down $5 on week.
Source:Kallanish
