Asian billet price rose for a third consecutive day in light of fresh deals concluded Nov. 27 with Chinese prices climbing with higher buying indications.
S&P Global Platts assessed Southeast Asia 5SP 130 mm spot billet prices at a mid-point of $495/mt CFR Manila on Nov. 27, up $1/mt from Nov. 26.
In the Philippines, two fresh deals concluded at $495/mt CFR Manila and sellers maintained offers at $500/mt CFR Manila.
A deal of 10,000 mt was sold at $495/mt CFR Manila for 5SP 130 mm Vietnamese induction furnace of January shipment, said a local trader, up $3/mt from the bid on the day.
Another deal was sold at the same price for 5SP 130 mm Bahrain’ s billet of January shipment, quantity likely 20,000-30,000 mt, he added.
Prevailing offers were steady at at least $500/mt CFR from Russian, Vietnamese, unchanged on the day, said two market sources.
Separately, Chinese billet prices jumped amid a firmer domestic market, and import buyers lift buying indications accordingly.
S&P Global Platts assessed the China 5SP 150 mm square bar spot price at the mid-point of $485/mt FOB China on Nov. 27, up $5/mt on the day.
Tangshan Q235 billet was assessed at Yuan 3,685/mt ($558/mt or $494/mt without VAT), up Yuan 40/mt on the day.
In the seaborne market, the most competitive selling indication was for Vietnamese cargo at $495/mt CFR China for 5SP cargo, with Indonesian and Middle Eastern at $500/mt CFR, up $5-10/mt from the previous week.
Buyers placed higher buying indication at $485/mt CFR China for Southeast Asian origin cargo, or $475/mt CFR China for other origins, up $5/mt on the day. This indicated a narrower bid-ask gap at $10-$30/mt CFR compared with $20-40/mt on the previous day.
However, deals or firm interests were not seen during the week, as it was cheaper to buy domestic spot cargo, said a northern Chinese trader.
-- Analyst Chelsea Ye, Analyst Joy Zhuo