Billet price declines have slowed while several new deals were heard in global markets, but sources wondered where the Chinese market would move following the National Day holiday, celebrated October 1-7, Fastmarkets was told in the week ended Friday October 4.
Southeast Asia China's markets were closed for the week-long National Day holiday and will resume trading on Tuesday October 8. An increase in Turkish scrap import prices, coupled with the Chinese holiday, provided support for steel billet prices in Southeast Asia over the past week. During the week, two shipments of Russian billet were sold at $397-398 per tonne cfr Manila. Billet produced in India was reported to be offered at $390-395 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia. But this information could not be verified at the time of publication and was excluded from Fastmarkets' price assessment. Iran-origin billet was sold at $380-390 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia. Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast Asia, was $397-398 per tonne on October 4, unchanged from the previous day. Iran Iranian billet exporters accepted discounts during the week to October 2. "Iranian mills were not willing to accept even $350...