Steel billet prices in some global markets rose in the week to Friday February 28, supported by firm demand, sources told Fastmarkets.
But the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) across the world, including rising infection numbers in other parts of Asia, such as South Korea and Japan, dampened market sentiment, sources said.
Scrap prices declined during the week, with Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, down almost $5 or 1.7% at $279.11 per tonne on February 28, from $284.04 per tonne on February 21.
Southeast Asia, China
Several cargoes totaling 10,000-20,000 tonnes of billet produced in Vietnam using induction furnaces (IF) were booked at $413-414 per tonne cfr Manila last week. Fastmarkets does not include prices for IF billet in its assessment because they tend to be lower than mainstream levels due to the product's inferior quality.
Billet produced in Vietnam using blast furnaces was offered at $425-430 per tonne cfr Manila, while...