Posted on 31 May 2024
Traders secured billet when an Indonesian mill lowered prices on Wednesday, Kallanish understands. While the mill has since raised its export prices, the mill’s price cut reflects a fundamentally weak market.
The Indonesian mill sold 150mm 3sp billet for July shipment at $495/t fob on Wednesday. This included a booking by an international trader for 20,000t to a Thai EAF mill. Before Wednesday, the Indonesian mill was seen offering billet at $500/t fob and slab at $510/t fob. Freight costs from the mill’s Indonesian discharge port to the region is around $20/t, depending on destination.
Wednesday’s bookings were for at least 30,000t whereas another source estimates 40,000t. Traders took the billet cargoes in order to take profit on previous short positions, another regional trader says. But he does not think that many end-users in ASEAN market will pay $520/t cfr because finished steel demand is weak. A Chinese trader reports hearing that the mill resorted to price-cutting because it needed to fill its order books. The mill sold 27,000t of 3sp 150mm billet last Tuesday at $498/t fob.
The Indonesian mill has now raised its export price for 3sp 150mm billet to $505/t fob. “There may be a chance for a $5/t discount,” a Jakarta trader says. A Vietnamese mill is offering 3sp 150mm billet at $505/t fob after closing a 45,000t deal last Tuesday at $495/t fob. “It is the market level and will not change much,” a Vietnamese trader said on the deal price of $495/t fob.
Source:Kallanish
