Posted on 12 May 2021
The Chinese billet import market continues to shoot up to unprecedented highs, Kallanish notes. Transaction prices were recorded at $715/tonne cfr China late last week and are moving up by leaps and bounds in recent days.
Traders report market chatter that billet prices to China have reached $800/t cfr, but many say this is only an offered price so far.
The $800/t cfr China price is heard for blast furnace billet from an Indonesian mill. While a few traders heard this was a concluded price, most say the Chinese booking price for billet was lower than this.
A Chinese trader explains the Indonesian mill’s billet was last booked at $760-770/t cfr, before it raised its offer to $800/t cfr. A Chinese trader heard a billet offer price of $780/t cfr but says no deals have taken place yet.
The $800 price is the “talk of the town,” a Thai trader comments. Some are guessing that a Chinese trading company is “shouting” this level in the market and rumours are saying there was a booking at $780/t cfr China, he adds. “It’s rumoured since yesterday but there is still no confirmation if a Chinese buyer would take this price,” a Manila trader said on Tuesday.
Vietnamese blast furnace 3sp billet has been booked at $730/t fob, around $760/t cfr China, a Vietnamese trader says. Another says he heard Vietnamese induction furnace billet was ordered at $750/t cfr on Monday.
The billet import price escalation mirrors the surge in China's domestic billet market since last Friday. Billet prices soared in Tangshan to CNY 5,670/t ($883/t) on Tuesday, CNY 450 ($70) higher than last Friday.
Source:Kallanish
