Posted on 16 Dec 2024
Suppliers to ASEAN raised offer prices for billet on improved market sentiment in China early last week, Kallanish notes. Some traders have turned to Russian billet to entice buying with its lower price tags, following its reappearance in the region at attractive prices.
A trader was offering 20,000 tonnes of 3sp 150mm billet for January shipment at $445/tonne cfr Thailand or Philippines last Friday. “It’s more complicated” if sold to the Philippines because of sanctions, a Manila trader notes. The cargo would require a load port survey report (LPSR) which means that sellers cannot easily make changes to the cargo’s bill of lading or change the load port to evade sanctions, he adds. Local banks are also still refusing to issue LCs for Russian-origin product.
The supplier of the Russian billet is relatively new to Thai buyers, Thai trading sources say. “There is no fixture yet,” a Bangkok trader notes.
A regular Russian exporting mill sold more than 35,000t of 3sp/4sp billet at $438-443/t cfr Taiwan, depending on volume and discharging port during the week ending 6 December, Taiwanese trading sources observe.
Offers for open-origin 5sp 150mm square billet for January/February shipment were mostly prevailing at $465-470/t cfr Manila at the end of last week. This compared to $465/t cfr the week before.
Philippines demand for construction steel is weak. In addition to slow government construction activities, an oversupply of condominium units in the country shot up to an equivalent of 34 months as of November, given the prevailing sales rate, according to local press reports quoting Leechiu Property Consultants. This compares with the normal 12 months as a maximum.
Kallanish maintained 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $465/t cfr Manila.
In China, 3sp 150mm billet was prevailing at around $455/t fob last Friday, up $15/t week-on-week, while the most traded May rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose by CNY 49/t ($7) week-on-week. Billet prices had reached $458-460/t fob last Thursday on stimulus optimism arising from the China Economic Work Conference and a volatile yuan-to-dollar exchange rate.
Chinese traders were offering less Chinese-origin billet because prices were too high to compete in ASEAN. Chinese 3sp 150mm billet is currently offered at $475/t cif Thailand.
In Jakarta, Chinese 5sp billet was offered last Friday at as low as $477/t cfr and at $470/t cfr for 3sp billet. A leading Indonesian mill raised its 3sp 150mm billet to $455/t fob for February shipment, effective 13 December, up $5/t.
Source:Kallanish
