Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market fell on Friday July 12 because of sluggish demand in the key import markets of Indonesia and the Philippines.
The price was also pressured downward during the week by a decline in scrap prices in the bellwether Turkish market and the availability of competitively priced Japanese billet.The downturn in Japan's domestic ferrous scrap market, coupled with weak demand for billet within the country, has led producers to turn to the export markets, a trader in Southeast Asia said."The favorable exchange rate is also becoming a significant tailwind...