The export billet price range from steel mills in the ASEAN region has widened significantly by the end of this week as some mills have confirmed lower prices to Asian buyers, while some, still having earlier shipment terms, have been maintaining higher levels.
On Thursday, there was a rumor that an Indonesian mill had sold some limited billet volume (not above 10,000 mt) at $475/mt FOB, which is down from the seller’s previous reference price of $490-500/mt FOB. The material is for a local buyer in Indonesia and in general the producer is still not very eager to sell, with this latest deal done for late January shipment.
On the other hand, a Vietnamese mill has been in negotiations for a billet volume for November-December shipment at $500-510/mt FOB. This week, one of the main importers from Latin America has made an inquiry for at least 30,000 mt of billets. Offers have been received at around $580-600/mt CFR from different sources, but the final decision has not yet been made, according to market sources.
Malaysian billet exporters have not been very flexible either and their indicative offer levels have remained at $500/mt FOB, in line with slab prices.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-ASEAN billet has decreased to $475-500/mt FOB, down from $490-500/mt FOB late last week mainly because of the impact of falling Chinese prices in the Asian region.