Posted on 21 Apr 2023
The import market for long products into Southeast Asia remains lacklustre. Regional importers are not active because market sentiment is negative and they are waiting for price stability, Kallanish notes.
Offers for small, residual lots of Tangshan 6.5mm diameter wire rod are at around $585/tonne cfr Manila, a Manila trader reports. The $5/t week-on-week rise is more likely due to “a slight increase in Chinese futures earlier this week, though I suspect prices will drop again shortly due to lower futures again today”, he said on Thursday. He has not heard of any orders this week, nor of any ASEAN-origin wire rod offers in the market. Kallanish assessed SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod at $595-600/t cfr Manila, down $5 on-week.
Low-priced Chinese wire rod cargoes are available at $570/t cfr Ho Chi Minh City, down $10/t from last week, a Vietnamese trader says. These cargoes are widely believed to be steel exported without the full payment of Chinese VAT.
A 20,000-tonne cargo of Indonesian blast furnace 6.5mm diameter wire rod was booked around 10-11 April at $610-615/t cfr Thailand. An extra $20/t charge was levied for some 5.5mm diameter material in the same cargo, which is due for shipment by 10 June. "But they are aiming for end-May shipment," a Bangkok trader observes.
Meanwhile, the rebar import market is seeing lower offers. In Singapore, a Malaysian mill’s theoretical-weight rebar is now at $620/t delivered by truck to Singapore, down $15/t on-week. This is equivalent to $610/t cfr Singapore. The offer for May/June shipment is negotiable, an importer says. Theoretical-weight rebar from Vietnam and the Middle East is each offered at $620/t cfr.
“All buyers want to wait and see if prices will go further down,” he adds. Middle Eastern rebar was offered at around $640/t cfr last week. A regional trader hears Chinese rebar offers at $610-615/t cfr. Kallanish assessed BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar at $605-610/t cfr Singapore theoretical weight, $15 lower on-week.
Some traders are beginning to give forward delivery offers of actual-weight rebar to Hong Kong. One such offer for February 2024 shipment is heard at $580/t cfr Hong Kong. Another offer at $590/t cfr should be for June shipment, an importer says. “Traders try to offer this based on the SHFE,” he notes. Rebar offers for May/June shipment are at around $620/t cfr, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
