SE Asia: Billet import prices follow downtrend w-o-w in absence of trade

The Southeast Asian imported billet market remained muted and billet prices have been following downtrend this week. In addition, billet importers are anticipating weak buying interest as China is limiting semis export to improve environmental situation of the country. Notably, absence of fresh export tenders were seen this week.

According to BigMint's bi-weekly assessment, billet import prices declined by $10/tonnes (t) w-o-w to $525/t CFR Manila on 15 March 2024.

Chinese billet prices fell by RMB 150/t ($21/t) w-o-w to RMB 3,310/t ($460/t) on 15 March against 8 March. Drop in finished steel prices and rebar futures have weighed on billet prices. Meanwhile, Chinese SHFE rebar futures edged down by RMB 201/t ($28/t) w-o-w to RMB 3,490/t ($485/t) today against 8 March.

Turkish imported ferrous scrap market witnessed fluctuating offers throughout the week. Initially, there was a slight uptick in offers following some concluded deals of HMS (80:20) towards the end of the previous week, hovering around $378-380/t CFR levels. However, these prices rebounded due to the subdued conditions in the Chinese market.

Market Highlights:

• Thailand's imported billet offers stood at $530-535/t CFR Thailand, a slight drop of around $2-3/t w-o-w.
  
  
• Indonesian steelmaker Dexin Steel has kept its billet (3 SP) offer at around $515/t FOB, as per sources. It is expected that the offers will be more lowered in near future.
  
  
• Vietnam's billet export offers stood at the range of $505-510/t FOB this week. In the domestic market, billet prices have been dipped by $30/t, sources informed.