Posted on 01 Jul 2024
The billet import market in ASEAN is spiralling downwards, Kallanish notes. While there are offers for billet coming from other sources, China is leading in price competitiveness.
Bookings in Indonesia for Chinese-origin 150mm billet concluded at lows of $495/tonne cfr for 3sp grade and at $502/t cfr for 5sp grade during the week though 28 June, Chinese trading sources say. Indonesian trading sources report confirmed deals at several dollars higher. Orders for Chinese 3sp 150mm billet closed at around $505/t cfr Jakarta during the previous week.
An Indonesian mill recently concluded 3sp 150mm base billet sales at $483/t fob, below its target price of $490/t fob. Since the Indonesian mill sold its low-carbon wire rod at $500/t fob on 27 June, “I think now they might be pushing billet at $480 or even lower,” a Jakarta trader says. The mill’s usual price gap between billet and wire rod is $20/t.
South Korean EAF 3sp billet is being offered at $503/t cfr Jakarta. “At this price, no one can buy because Chinese billet is cheaper,” a Jakarta trader notes. Chinese 3sp billet is now offered at $495-500/t cfr Taiwan, Taiwanese trading sources say. This would be equivalent to around $480-485/t fob. Russian billet is heard offered at $500/t cfr Taiwan.
“China has become the price leader again,” says a Vietnamese trader who notes that the above-mentioned Indonesian mill has been lowering billet values to keep pace with Chinese prices. But he adds that a leading Vietnamese mill has kept its official 3sp 150mm billet prices at $495/t fob, unchanged for the last two weeks in June.
Low Chinese billet prices are mostly the work of traders taking short positions, a regional trader observes. “Some are shorting the physical market and going long on futures, which fell sharply on 24 June,” a Chinese market source says.
Meanwhile, the Philippines market is quiet with no deals heard concluded last week. “I have been trying to get a bid,” a regional trader opined on Friday. Offers for 5sp 130mm billet for open origin are heard at $505-510/t cfr Manila. Japanese and South Korean EAF billet has resurfaced in the market, with 3sp offers at $505/t cfr Manila. “They can produce 5sp billet but I think it will be at around $5-10/t more,” a Manila trader says.
Kallanish assessed 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $505/t cfr Manila, down $7.5 on-week.
Source:Kallanish
