The Southeast Asian billet market continued to weaken last week, with prices falling below $ 600 / t. However, buyers are reluctant to participate in a falling market.
Offerings in the Philippines dropped to $ 595 per tonne in Manila. The same situation is with the proposal for the supply of 45,000 tons of Russian billet 130 mm 5sp with dispatch in March and from 6 to 10,000 tons of billets from Vietnam with dispatch in February. Most of the offers previously dominated above USD 600 per tonne CFR.
A Manila-based trader says his buyers are showing "... zero" interest in current offerings. Another says shoppers are definitely not keen to book at $ 595 per tonne. He predicts prices will drop to $ 550 per tonne during the Chinese New Year celebrations. This is based on the assumption that scrap prices, which are rapidly declining, will reach $ 420 per tonne.
In Thailand, many traders invite buyers to place bids at $ 590 per tonne of Ko Sichang cif, after which they will confirm the supply of billets. This includes billets from Vietnam and Indonesia. But nothing has happened so far because Thai buyers think this is just the beginning of a price adjustment, says a Bangkok-based trader.
According to another trader, Russian billets are offered at $ 600 per ton in Thailand, Vietnamese billets at $ 585 per ton, and Indonesian billets at $ 590-600 per ton. “But there are no orders. Buyers want to wait and see, ”he adds.
Likewise, there is no buyer interest in Indonesia despite falling prices. Bids this week for blast furnace and EAF 5sp billet from Malaysia and Vietnam, and EAF 5sp billet from Bahrain are around $ 595 per tonne from Indonesia, up from $ 620 per tonne CFR last week. “All factories and traders are trying to liquidate [now],” says a regional trader. He notes that despite the strong performance in Chinese steel futures over the past two days, regional buyers are still hesitant to return to the market.
