Indian billet export market subdued on bid-offer disparity

The Indian billet exports market continued to remain silent so far this week with recent tenders fetching far lower bids than mills' expectations.

An Indian steelmaker had floated an export tender for spot sale of 60,000 tonnes (t) of blast furnace (BF) blooms (150x150mm, 3SP/4SP grade). The shipment is scheduled for the end of Oct'21. The buyer has to quote for a minimum quantity of 30,000 t. If sources are to be believed, the tender was cancelled due to low bids and limited participation.

Few trade sources informed that the bids fetched were at around $575-580/t FoB levels while the mill was expecting around $15-20/t higher than the fetched bids.

One of the traders told SteelMint that China's quarantine clause for Indian vessels, volatile re-bar futures and higher freight rates have kept Indian billet buying interest low at present.

SteelMint's bi-weekly assessment of Indian billets (150mm, 3SP/4SP) exports stood at $600/t FoB on 31 Aug'21, stable against the last assessment as on 23 Aug'21.

Chinese re-bar futures decline: According to data maintained with SteelMint, China's re-bar SHFE futures contract for Jan'22 delivery closed today at RMB 5,242/t ($810/t), a decline of RMB 66/t ($10/t) against yesterday's closing.

Indicative price levels for imported billets in China was assessed at around $675-680/t CFR.

Domestic billet prices in China stable: Steel billet prices in China's Tangshan remained stable on a daily basis at RMB 5,020/t ($777/t) on 1 Sep'21, inclusive of 13% VAT. However, prices have increased compared to RMB 4,950/t exw Tangshan assessed towards the closing of last week.

Active tender:

Vizag Steel, a state-owned steel company, has floated two ocean sale export tenders for around 20,000 t of steel billets (90x90mm, C20MMn Gr. A) and 15,000 t of wire rod coils (5.5-12 mm, grades SAE - 1008/ 1010 / 1012/ 1012S / 1018). Both tenders are due on 6 Sept'21. The shipment is scheduled for the first week of Oct'21. Buyers have to quote for a minimum quantity of 10,000 t for billets and 5,000 t for wire rod coils.