Russian exporters reduced billet offers for end-August to September shipment to $475-480/t FOB Black Sea, down from $487-493/t FOB a week earlier, with market participants indicating that additional discounts remained negotiable. Offers to Türkiye also softened to $495-505/t CFR (equivalent to $475-485/t FOB), compared with around $510/t CFR in the previous week. However, Turkish buyers maintained significantly lower price expectations at $475-485/t CFR, leaving a noticeable gap between bids and offers and limiting trading activity. Russia also continued to target North African markets, with billet offers to Tunisia reported at $538/t CFR.
Across Asia, demand remained subdued. The Philippines was one of the few active markets, where 10,000-15,000 tonnes of Chinese billet were reportedly booked at above $480/t CFR. Elsewhere, purchasing activity was largely restrained. In Taiwan, seasonal rains continued to weaken long steel consumption, prompting Chinese suppliers to lower billet offers to $480-482/t CFR, while buyers delayed procurement in anticipation of further declines.
Selling pressure also increased in other Asian markets. Chinese billet offers to Saudi Arabia eased to $510-515/t CFR, compared with around $520/t CFR a week earlier, although transactions remained scarce. Indonesia's Dexin maintained its billet offer unchanged at $470/t FOB, reflecting a wait-and-see approach amid weak regional demand.
In Southeast Asia, Malaysian buyers indicated workable levels at $475-480/t CFR, while open-origin 5SP billet offers declined to $485-490/t CFR. Market participants generally expect billet prices in Asia to remain under pressure in the near term as sluggish construction activity and expectations of further price reductions continue to discourage immediate purchases.
The Middle East market remained comparatively stable. In the UAE, Chinese and Indonesian billet offers held at $520-530/t CFR, but buying activity stayed limited due to ongoing concerns over ECAS certification requirements, material origin, and the limited availability of certified billets.
Overall, the billet market continues to be characterized by weak demand, widening bid-offer gaps in several regions, and persistent expectations of further price declines. Unless downstream steel consumption shows meaningful improvement, suppliers are likely to face continued pressure to adjust offer prices in order to secure new orders.
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