Posted on 21 Jun 2021
The Southeast Asian billet market saw certain suppliers hike offers last week, Kallanish notes. However, regional buying interest was thin.
A Russian mill offered 130mm square billet at $710/tonne cfr Manila during the week. It previously sold 100mm 3sp billet at $690/t cfr on around 11 June. The mill’s 100mm billet is usually sold first and at a lower price to Philippine buyers, an importer says. This is because the Philippines is one of the few markets which still uses 100mm billet, he adds. An offer at $710/t cfr is “way too high”, a trader says. Buying interest is “definitely” under $700/t cfr Manila, he adds.
Indian blast furnace billet was offered at $705/t cfr and Vietnamese blast furnace billet at around $695-700/t cfr Manila. A Vietnamese mill manager describes the market as “very unstable and mixed” during the week through 18 June. “It went up, down and is now up again,” he said on Friday.
Vietnamese induction furnace billet is offered at $685-692/t cfr Manila, up from the transacted $680-685/t cfr during the week through 11 June. Vietnamese mills are aiming to export at $660/t fob for induction furnace billet and at $670/t fob for blast furnace billet, Vietnamese trading sources say. Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $690-695/t cfr Manila, unchanged on-week.
Meanwhile, optimism over a pick-up in the Chinese billet import market has waned. The import market appears to have mirrored the Chinese domestic market which lost steam during the week. Domestic spot prices peaked in Tangshan at CNY 5,060/t ($786/t) on 12-14 June, and prevailed at CNY 4,960/t on 18 June.
Trading sources reported 40,000 tonnes of Vietnamese blast furnace billet booked at $695-700/t cfr China on 11 June. Around the same time, 20,000t of Indonesian blast furnace was ordered at $700/t cif Caofeidian, Chinese trading sources report. That same Indonesian mill is currently offering billet at $710/t cfr but “can consider” $690/t cfr, a Chinese trader says. No buyers have taken up the offer yet, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
