Indian billet export market has seen limited trades since the second half of last week. An Indian mill had floated a two-billet export tender for spot sale. The quantity offered for each tender was 30,000 MT. The size and grade mentioned in the tenders were 150*150mm and 3SP/4SP respectively. According to sources reported to SteelMint, both the tenders received dull responses. This was primarily due to two reasons-
* High base price- The company had set the base prices in the range of USD 386-388/MT, FoB, for both the tenders.
* Payment terms- Since, the payment terms of one of the tenders was 100% advance, which resulted in limited participation in the tender.
Also, since the steel futures in China have witnessed a decline, the bids for Indian billet in China have also dropped. Currently, the bids are at USD 398-400/MT CFR, levels as per trade sources. This is another reason for limited participation in the Indian billet tenders; especially for government-owned mills.
On the contrary, a private Indian mill has firmly kept the offers above USD 405/MT CFR, and was sounded resistant to the price levels which are below USD 403/MT, a trade source mentioned during the conversation with SteelMint. The price resistance is possibly due to the reason that mill is booked till Aug’20, he added.
Meanwhile, another private mill has floated an export tender for 40,000 MT (approx.) billets and is eyeing price levels at USD 415/MT, CFR.
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