Indian Mills Book 180,000 MT Billets for Export in a Week's Time

India was witnessed to be actively functional in the global billet market, this week. The country was noted to book approximately 180,000 MT billets this week, majorly to China. Both public and private sector mills were reported to be actively floating offers, as per sources. India is largely under lockdown and amid sluggish domestic demand, the mills are largely dependent on the exports.

The details of the bookings made by the Indian mills are as below-

-- A private mill was reported to book 100,000 MT billet to China at USD 365-375/MT CFR, and the shipment is scheduled for Jun'20, as per sources.

-- A govt. owned mill had floated an ocean export tender for 60,000 MT billets for spot sale. If sources are to be believed, the company partially concluded the tender i.e. 30,000 MT at around USD 350/MT, FoB for end May shipment. For the rest unsold quantity of 30,000 MT, the company has issued the fresh spot sale tender.

--Another govt owned company was noted to book 50,000 MT billets to China at USD 355-360/MT, on an FoB basis, at the end of the last week.

However, it is worth noting that billet import offers in China are USD 365-367/MT, CFR. It seems Chinese mills are aggressively booking billets ahead labor day holidays (1 May'20- 5 May'20). The domestic billet prices in China are currently at RMB 3,080/MT, ex-Tangshan inclusive of all taxes.