Posted on 06 Nov 2023
The Philippines billet import market was quiet last week, Kallanish notes. This was mostly due to several public holidays taking place during the week. Offer prices remain firm amid the improvement steel market sentiment in China.
Offers for open-origin Chinese/ASEAN blast furnace 5sp grade billet for December shipment are at around $520/tonne cfr Manila, up from the previous week’s $515-520/t cfr, local trading sources say. “Manila is mostly still on holiday and demand is so quiet,” a regional trader says.
A Singapore trader hears that a leading Indonesian mill sold a parcel of 5sp 130mm billet at $518-520/t cfr Manila. But others did not hear of the deal. A Manila trader personally thinks that $518-520/t cfr is too high for rerollers. “If true, it could be traders covering previous positions or taking long ones,” he says. “Many companies have taken the whole week off due to the multiple holidays,” he adds.
Another regional trader says that 5sp 130mm billet from the Indonesian mill is currently offered at $525/t cfr Manila, and from a leading Vietnamese mill, $530/t cfr Manila.
Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $515-518/t cfr Manila, up $1.5 on-week.
The same Indonesian mill's offer for 3sp 150mm billet is prevailing at $500-505/t fob, trading sources in Jakarta say. Freight is around $20/t to Jakarta. Chinese billet has increased so fast, a trader says. Offers for 5sp 150mm billet from China prevailing at $530-535/t cfr Jakarta, the trader says.
Source:Kallanish
