Posted on 21 Aug 2023
The billet import market continues to be quiet in the Philippines and ASEAN, Kallanish notes. An improving Chinese steel futures market is causing suppliers to target price hikes but buyers are staying on the sidelines.
Traders are offering blast furnace 5sp grade billet from a leading Indonesian blast furnace producer at $520-523/tonne cfr and 5sp billet from China at $513-515/t cfr Manila. “They are trying to increase to $515-520/t cfr due to the [rising Chinese] futures but no one is biting,” a buyer says. The Indonesian producer is directly offering 3sp billet at $500/t fob or around $520/t cfr Manila.
Apart from a booking by a Philippines re-roller heard for 3sp grade 130mm Russian billet on 11 August at $490/t cfr Manila, market sources say they have not heard of any new deals.
Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $515/t cfr Manila, unchanged from the previous week.
In Thailand, Iranian 3sp grade billet is offered at $502-506/t cfr, and Chinese 3sp grade billet at $515/t cfr. Offers to Indonesia for 3sp grade billet from China for shipment in September or latest by early October are prevailing at $515/t cfr, and for 5sp grade at $525/t cfr. Buying interest is weak, trading sources say. "Buyers' price target is $490/t cif only," a Bangkok trader observes.
Source:Kallanish
