Posted on 04 Sep 2023
Billet offer prices are on the rise again in the Philippines, Kallanish notes. Suppliers are hiking offers on the back of the rebound on the SHFE. The Chinese steel futures rose on Beijing’s announced measures to stimulate the flagging Chinese property sector on 31 August.
Offers for 5sp grade billet of open origin for October/November shipment are mostly at $510-515/t cfr Manila, local market sources say on Friday But exporting mills including a leading Indonesian blast furnace mill have raised offers to as high as $500/t fob for 3sp grade, they say. Freight from Indonesia to Manila is estimated at $15-20/t. "Some offers for 5sp billet have moved up to $523/t cfr Manila," a buyer says.
Suppliers were offering 5sp grade billet from the same Indonesian mill at below $510/t cfr earlier in the week but now prices have increased again, a Manila source says. “The Chinese futures went up a lot,” says a Chinese trader who hears the Indonesian mill's 3sp offer at as low as $495/t fob during the week.
The Indonesian mill is also heard to have sold 3sp grade billet at $490/t fob earlier in the week. A Manila trader believes speculative market players either covering short positions or taking long positions were the buyers. “I think that no way people here will pay for $505-510/t cfr for 3sp grade billet,” he says. He and others do not hear of trades transpring in the Philippines during the past week.
Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $515/t cfr Manila, unchanged from the previous week.
Meanwhile, several traders report hearing Russian and Iranian billet offered at under $500/t cfr in the region. Traders are offering Russian billet at $490-495/t cif Ko Sichang and Iranian billet at $490-505/t cif, a Thai trader says. “These two countries will fight it out to get their market share here because the EU is no longer their export destination,” a Philippine trader says.
But others do not hear of these offers. “Freight to Thailand is cheaper so prices here, if at all, should be higher,” a Manila trader says. But he has not heard of such offers. “I don’t agree [with the low prices], That is only the buyer’s wish,” a regional trader says. However, he does not think that regional billet buyers will follow the Chinese market uptrend.
Source:Kallanish
