Further deals for resale cargoes of 3sp blast furnace (BF) steel billet into the Southeast Asian markets have damped sentiment in the region for new production billet, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 19.
Several hundred thousand tonnes of diverted cargo, some of which was already on the water and required very prompt shipment, have been
offered into Southeast Asian countries in recent weeks.
Such cargoes were initially booked with the intention of selling them into China, but the plunge in Chinese prices over the past month has meant that trading companies holding the positions had to hurriedly divert the material to other destinations.
Diverted Russian 3sp BF billet was heard sold at around $620 per tonne cfr Thailand this week. Resale cargoes of India-origin 3sp 150mm billet were heard at $618 per tonne cfr Indonesia and $630 per tonne cfr Turkey this week. An Iran-origin 3sp resale cargo was also rumored to have sold at $620 per tonne cfr into Southeast Asia.
A South Asian trader said that there were still resale cargoes available in the market, but volumes were starting to fall...