Indian billet export prices surged to an eight-year high level. In a recently concluded billet export tender, an Indian mill achieved a price level of $591-593/t, FoB India. The tender floated was for 60,000 t blooms (150*150mm, 3SP/4SP grade) for May ’21 shipments.
Vizag Steel has floated an export tender for 240,000 t blooms (150*150mm, 3SP/4SP). The payment terms are- 90% advance of the tendered quantity. The delivery schedule is within four months, from the date of receipt of advance. The due date of the tender is 26 Apr ’21. The company has also scheduled a pre-bid virtual meeting on 15 Apr ’21. Meanwhile, the company has recorded a remarkable 261% y-o-y growth in the steel export sales of 1.3 mn t in FY ’21.
On the other hand, amid improving export realizations, a few private primary mills were also offering billets for China at $650/t, CFR. Few market participants indicated that workable levels were around $640-645/t CFR.
SteelMint’s bi-weekly assessment for Indian billets (150*150mm, BF route, FoB East coast) is currently at $590-595/t, up by $30-35 w-o-w.
The new highs of Chinese domestic billet prices, fetching sizeable billet imports: Amid production cuts, due to environmental concerns, the domestic billet prices in China have reached RMB 5,020/t ($766/t) ex Tangshan, including 13% VAT. Global billet prices have been rallying on the back of production cuts in China, resulting in a sharp price hike in Chinese domestic prices.
The rumor of a reduction of import duty on Non-ASEAN semis is driving the imports in China, SteelMint learned during conversations with international traders. Some unconfirmed reports indicated that the duty is likely to rule out which is 2.5% currently. We further understand that the Chinese Government is likely to focus on the EAF route process than the BF route. The idea is to have clean and green cities. It is further likely to drive more billet imports to China.
A few recent billet import deals heard for China-
The billet imports in China during Jan-Feb ’21 noted a y-o-y rise of 16% to reach 1.3 mn t, according to the recent data released by China customs. Vietnam, Iran, Russia, Indonesia, and Oman were the predominant exporters.
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