Billet Import Prices in Southeast Asia Have Quickly Bounced Back

Blast furnace billet import bookings continued through early last week at less than $600 per ton ex-Manila. Open-origin ASEAN/Chinese 3sp/5sp 150mm billet, according to a buyer in Manila, was reserved for $590-595/t cfr.

A shipment of China 3sp grade billet that was transacted last week at $585/t cfr caused some market jitters. But, regional and Filipino traders claim they were unable to verify the agreement with customers. During the week ending February 10, position shipments of regional 5sp grade billet had reached a conclusion at $595/t cfr Manila.

A Thai dealer learns that 15,000 tonnes of regional 5sp grade billet was reserved at $598 per ton cif Thailand early last week for shipping in March. He said on Friday that there had been market offers for billets that were as low as $585/t cif for 3sp 150mm billet, but that there had been no new offers for the previous two or three days. The domestic rebar and scrap markets in Thailand have suffered as a result of sales of position billet cargoes at “aggressive pricing” over the last two weeks, he added.

Another trader in Manila claims that the regional billet market is “following futures” because the cycles are so brief. He observes that the going rate for a 5sp billet is $615–620/t cfr. He continues, “Prices will continue to rise in the upcoming days.” At $595-600/t cfr Manila, evaluated 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet, up $2.5 on-week.

Domestic billet prices are rising in Tangshan as of late, with daily rises over the previous four days. Prices rose by CNY 20 intraday and CNY 120 since February 13 to settle at CNY 3,870/t ($562/t) on Friday.