Lackluster demand for steel billet kept global prices largely stable or down in what was slow trading during the week from Monday September 3 to Friday September 7, with many importers snubbing higher offers.
Turkey was the exception, with its export and import prices strengthening in line with rising scrap values, although its demand for imported billet remained weak.AsiaThe majority of Southeast Asian billet buyers were absent from the market due to their depreciating domestic currencies and uncertainty about price trends.As a result, billet import prices generally remained steady during the week.More offers were heard in the region but at higher levels last week, with suppliers starting to return to the market.Asking prices from Russia were $530-535 per tonne cfr, while those from Turkey were $540-550 per tonne cfr.Offers for India-origin billet produced in induction furnaces (IF) were $540 per tonne cfr Manila. South African IF material was offered at $520-525 per tonne cfr Manila. Trading was sparse because Southeast Asian buyers resisted the higher offers and few of them submitted bids.Filipino buyers booked Turkish billet - probably position cargoes - at $525 per...