Posted on 23 Apr 2025
Exporters of billet from China and ASEAN are keeping prices low amid continued depressed buying within the region, Kallanish notes. Suppliers are depending on export sales to the Middle East to shore up their order books.
Indonesia’s Dexin Steel lowered its export price for 3sp grade150mm billet to $424/tonne fob on 22 April, down $2/t from last Friday.
Trading sources says that the mill has had to lower prices to match more competitively priced Chinese billet. “That is the main reason. They cannot sell well,” a regional trader says.
The mill was heard to have sold two billet cargoes for 54,000t each at $426/t fob to the Middle East, likely Saudi Arabia, in recent days. Kallanish understands that freight from Indonesia can be lower than $30/t because the seller is shipping full cargoes on the vessels.
Chinese 3sp 150mm billet prices are prevailing at around $420/t fob. A combined tonnage exceeding 300,000t was sold this month mainly to the Middle East, market sources in China say.
Deals were concluded last week at $418-425/t fob. Certain traders say prices slipped to $418/t fob last Friday before a small rebound this week. Freight from China to the Middle East is estimated at around $30/t.
Source:Kallanish
