Posted on 27 May 2025
US mills are stepping away from traditional slab suppliers such as Brazil, having booked Asian-origin semis last week, marking a shift in global slab trade, market participants inform Kallanish.
Brazilian slab suppliers have lowered their offers to $490-505/tonne fob, managing to secure bookings at the lower end of that range. However, US bids were too low for Latin American suppliers, which created an opening for Asian sellers.
“Market indications across Asia remain consistent, with slab offers hovering at around $440-450/t fob, though levels may have dipped slightly in tandem with billet easing to $425/t fob,” one trader comments.
According to market chatter, the US booked 50,000 tonnes each from Dexin and Formosa, at a base price of $440/t fob, with extras bringing the total to the $440-460/t fob range.
“The cost is at around $460/t fob plus $50/t freight, and with 25% duty – that’s about $570/t. Add $150/t in conversion costs, and the final cost lands close to $720/t delivered to the US South, roughly in line with or slightly above the current import index,” a market participant calculates. “Most US mills want a trial lot before committing to bulk orders – and it’s a nightmare to ship just a couple of slabs from Asia to the USA.”
In Europe, demand for slab was seen as "healthy", but market sentiment was cautious amid expectations of prices softening in the next two months due to declining finished product values.
Offers into Europe were heard at $510/t cfr and above. Workable levels for 30,000-50,000-tonne lots are seen at just above $500/t cfr, although there were deals heard from China at $510-515/t cfr.
In Italy, July-shipment negotiations are ongoing, with offers ranging between $510-530/t cfr and buyer expectations at around $490-500/t cfr.
While Russia and Iran remain largely sidelined from most major slab market discussions, slab from Iran was recently sold at $405/t fob. Russia's NLMK was reportedly offering slab at $430-435/t fob Novorossiysk or Tuapse, with a $15-20/t premium for EU sales.
These offers followed recent sales to Turkey and the Middle East and North Africa at around $430/t fob, or slightly lower. Slab from Ukraine’s Alchevsk mill, located in Russian-occupied territory, was reportedly sold into MENA at $420-425/t fob.
Source:Kallanish
