Posted on 04 Sep 2026
The slab import market in Indonesia continues to be sluggish, Kallanish notes. Despite the demand weakness, suppliers of Chinese slab have recently hiked offers in tandem with gains in Chinese steel prices amid a shortage of coking coal.
Chinese-origin slab for coil-making applications are prevailing at $495-500/tonne cfr, up from around $480/t cfr two weeks ago. The increased offer prices are "too high for Indonesia," a trader says.
The market has been weak since mid-July and trading has been slow.
“The market is still bad,” another Jakarta trader says. Offers at $470/t fob China or $495/t cfr are available for “very fast delivery” within this month, he adds. It is not easy to sell at $495/t as certain rerollers in Indonesia are even unwilling to accept $480/t cfr, he adds.
“Demand is not good [in Indonesia],” a Chinese trader says. Freight costs from northern China, where a large portion of slab is offered from, have a minimum fee of $20/t.
Chinese slab offers are prevailing at $470-480/t fob, another Chinese trader notes. The wide price gap covers the range of slab offered from Chinese tier one to three mills.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Dexin Steel is offering slab for November shipment at $480/t fob, up $3/t effective Wednesday. Some trading sources believe that a parcel was sold to India at $477/t fob the day before.
Source:Kallanish
