Chinese billet exporters maintained a competitive position in the market. On June 11, Chinese mills were offering 3sp billet at $470/t FOB for August shipment, largely unchanged from the previous week. However, export offers edged up slightly by around $2/t by the start of this week, reaching $473-476/t FOB. Market participants noted that higher production costs have reduced mills’ flexibility to lower prices further, while traders have become more cautious in building short positions. Despite the modest increase in offers, trading activity remained moderate.
Competition in the Asian billet export market intensified as Indonesian and Indian suppliers actively targeted overseas sales. Indonesia's Dexin Steel reduced its base-grade billet offers by $2/t to $483/t FOB for late September shipment, adding further pressure to the market. At the same time, Indian mills accelerated billet exports throughout May and early June due to weak demand from the domestic long steel sector, increasing the volume of material available to international buyers.
In Taiwan, Chinese 3sp billet offers were reported at around $495/t CFR. Russian suppliers also remained active, with an estimated 20,000-60,000 tonnes of Russian-origin billet recently sold at workable prices of $490-495/t CFR. The availability of competitively priced Russian material continued to influence buying decisions across the region.
The Turkish billet market also saw lower price levels. Russian billet offers were reported at $500/t CFR, equivalent to approximately $475-480/t FOB Black Sea, down from $510/t CFR a week earlier. The decline reflected ongoing competition among exporters and limited buying interest from Turkish consumers.
In the Middle East, Iranian semis were offered at $500-515/t delivered to Jordanian plants. While the material remained competitively priced, transportation costs of around $50/t and Iraqi transit fees of approximately $25/t continued to affect final delivered values.
The slab market followed a similar trend, with prices gradually softening amid subdued demand. Indonesian slab offers were heard at $590-600/t CFR this week, compared with $600-610/t CFR two weeks earlier. In Europe, offers for Asian-origin S235JR/A36 slab to Italy declined to $590-620/t CFR from $600-630/t CFR a week earlier.
Overall, the semis market remains characterized by strong export competition, particularly from Asia, while demand in key consuming regions remains insufficient to support a meaningful price recovery. Although rising production costs are preventing mills from offering significant discounts, buyers continue to resist higher prices, resulting in a largely balanced but subdued trading environment.
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