Posted on 10 May 2021
The Chinese billet import market notched even higher at the end of the week, Kallanish understands. However, billet importers in Southeast Asia are staying on the sidelines as prices escalate on bullish sentiment. Soaring raw material values and the booming Chinese domestic market are fuelling the run-up in prices.
Indonesian blast furnace 150mm billet was offered at $720/tonne cfr China and booked at $715/t cfr, Chinese and regional trading sources hear. The booking was probably made on 6 May, a Chinese trader reports. Previous deals for regional ASEAN billet concluded at around $680/t cfr China during the last week of April.
Billet prices have likewise crossed $700/t cfr Manila. Offers are also limited with trading and importer sources hearing quotes only for induction furnace billet at $705-710/t cfr for Indian material and at $710/t cfr for Vietnamese material.
But these prices may no longer be valid. Vietnamese induction furnace mills are now targeting to export billet at $730-740/t fob, a Vietnamese trader says. A leading Vietnamese blast furnace exporter has now hiked its offer price to $760/t fob. It sold billet to China at $650/t fob around 27 April. “The market is rocketing,” a Vietnamese trader says on the $110/t billet price jump in ten days.
"Prices are too high," a Manila importer says. “Everybody knows the market today is bullish. But nothing lasts forever,” a Philippine re-roller says. On 7 May, Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $705-710/t cfr Manila, $20 higher on-week.
Meanwhile, China's domestic billet market continues to spiral upwards. Billet prices rose in Tangshan to CNY 5,190/t ($805/t) on 7 May, CNY 70 higher day-on-day and CNY 200 higher since 29 April.
Source:Kallanish
