Posted on 24 Jun 2024
The billet import market in ASEAN continues to move lethargically, Kallanish notes. The rare appearance of South Korean billet offers in the Philippines stirred some interest among importing and trading sources.
A trader offered Korean 5sp 130mm electric arc furnace billet for August shipment at $511/t cfr Manila, importing sources say. “The mill was not disclosed,” a Manila buyer says. “$511 is a competitive price to buy except that rebar prices are still too low for any margin,” he says. “Prices continue to surprise in their slow sinking,” he says.
“There’s nothing much foreign traders or mills can do about low rebar prices locally,” a Manila trader notes. It is unclear if the South Korean offer has been taken up.
Others hear South Korean 5sp blast furnace/EAF billet offered higher at around $515/t cfr Manila. At the same time, a market source hears of a deal for 5sp 130mm open-origin billet for August shipment at $511/t cfr Manila. But other market sources are unable to report hearing any deals concluded in the ASEAN region during the week. “It is difficult to sell. [It is a] very hard time,” a regional trader says.
Chinese 3sp 150mm billet offers for August shipment are prevailing at $485-490/t fob during the week through 21 June. An offer for Chinese 3sp 150mm billet was heard at $505 Taiwan. A Taiwanese trader does not hear of South Korean billet. But he thinks that it is "possible as the Korean market is very bad," he says. Rebar consumption in the country is expected to drop considerably this year amid an economic slowdown, a South Korean trader says.
A Chinese trader ordered on 20 June a 50,000t cargo of 3sp 150mm Indonesian blast furnace billet for August shipment at $490/t fob for sale to Türkiye. The Indonesian mill had just lowered its billet prices by $5/t. A Vietnamese mill also lowered prices for 3sp 150mm billet from $500/t fob to $495/t fob last week.
Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $510-515/t cfr Manila, down $2.5 on-week.
Source:Kallanish
