Negative sentiments prevailed this week in the global billets market due to falling global scrap prices and the absence of firm buying interest from key importing nations. As a result, trades remained muted. Meanwhile, Turkiye’s imported scrap prices fell by around $11/tonne (t) w-o-w.
Declining rebar futures also weighed on billet prices. According to data maintained with SteelMint, China’s SHFE rebar futures contract for May 2023 delivery closed at RMB 4,107/t ($598/t) on 24 March, a sharp fall by RMB 155/t ($22/t) w-o-w.
Market highlights
- Indian billet export prices fall: Workable prices of Indian billet for export witnessed a drop, sources informed. Some sources indicated prices at around $590/t FOB. However, no deal was confirmed at the time of publishing this insight.
- Iran’s billets export market inactive: Iran’s steel billets export market has turned inactive amid the New Year holidays in the country. However, an Iranian steel mill concluded an export deal for 30,000 t of blooms (200*200mm) at $577/t FOB at the beginning of this week.
- SE Asia’s imported billet prices drop w-o-w: Imported billet prices in South East Asia saw a decline this week following a decrease in global scrap prices and low buying interest amid weak finished steel demand in the region. SteelMint’s bi-weekly assessment of BF-route billets (150x150mm, 3SP) imported by the Philippines stands at around $610-615/tonne (t) CFR Manila, a decrease of around $20-25/t w-o-w.
- Vietnam’s billet export offers down w-o-w: Vietnam’s BF-grade billets export offers decreased w-o-w following a decline in imported scrap prices in the region. Current offers stood at $620/t FOB, a decrease of around $30/t w-o-w. However, no active deals were reported at current offers.
- Chinese billet prices fall towards the weekend: Billet prices in China’s Tangshan fell sharply by RMB 140/t ($20/t) to RMB 3,860/t ($562/t), including 13% VAT, on 24 March.
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