Sellers reduce export prices for billets to ASEAN countries

Suppliers are eager to make deals, while buyers in Southeast Asia prefer to delay purchases. Offer prices have gone down over the past week.

In Manila, the offer of a Japanese electric arc furnace is $745/tonne francs, compared to $760-770/tonne francs in the last week of April. A leading Vietnamese manufacturer offers a 150mm or 130mm square billet at $760/t. Offers of Vietnamese blast furnace billets are $720-725/t fob, but suppliers offer firm offers, the Vietnamese exporter says. However, he did not hear of any proposals in the past week. The freight cost is about US$30 per ton from Vietnam to Manila.

Some trading sources see offers for EAF and blast furnace billets from the region at $730-740/t in Manila. This includes Indonesian 150mm 3sp blast furnace billet at $730/tonne francs, compared to 775 cents/tonne francs the previous week. “Sellers are ready to consider bids and will oppose rates as before. This is a buyer's market,” says a trader from Manila.

Bidders continue to discuss rumors about deals with Russian harvesting in the region. Russian prices put pressure on the regional market. Since purchases in Russia are associated with complex payment issues, their prices are below market prices.

Russian harvest last week was offered at $720/t cfr Manila. Traders are unable to confirm trade reports at $700/t cfr Manila. But some instead heard about a 90,000 ton shipment of Russian-made billets sold in Taiwan last week. A cargo of multiple grades, including base grade 3sp, closed at US$650/t in Kaohsiung to two buyers, a Taiwanese trader said.

Some regional sources believe that the reservation price of Taiwanese blanks seems too low. But others say they have heard that the Russian harvest was offered to China at $650 a ton about two weeks ago. Callanish priced a 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet at $740/t cfr Manila, down $17.5 from the week.