Daily Steel News - 6 Mar 09

Lower-priced billet offers fail to entice SE Asian buyers
Asian buyers are generally staying away from the billet import market because of weak finished steel prices. Offer prices from the CIS are generally quoted at $360-370/tonne cfr, down by $10-20/t cfr from a week ago. A Thai trader has heard of a firm offer of Black Sea billet at $350/t cfr Thailand but it was not taken up by local importers. An offer of Black Sea billet was also heard at $355/t cfr Vietnam. Offers from Taiwan at $370/t cfr, despite shorter time deliveries, are not finding buyers either. He has heard of Russian billet booked at around $360/t cfr Philippines recently.

SE Asian deep sea scrap importers, suppliers in stand-off
Offers of bulk scrap are prevailing at $260-270/tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 80:20 or No.1 HMS, unchanged from a week ago. However, buyers in the region are aiming to book at $230-240/t cfr levels, traders tell SBB.

China's steel inventories exceed 10m tonnes
Steel inventories in China have reached a record high as total steel stocks in China
have already exceeded 10m tonnes.

Chinese billet prices 'far below' production costs
Depressed by sluggish downstream demand, Chinese billet prices dropped further in March. Tangshan prices for 150x150mm Q235 billets have dropped to RMB 2,850-2,880/tonne ($417-421/t), on a cash payment basis and with VAT. As Steel Business Briefing has reported, prices recorded on 26 February were still around RMB 3,000/t.
"Though prices have already fallen far below our production costs, they don't show any signs of recovery; we have no idea where the bottom lies," the mill official adds. Hebelieves mills will have to cut production again if prices continue to slip

India import scrap price cut from Europe
The import price of Indian scrap is expected to be down by US$10~15/ton due to low demand. It is believed that the import price should be reduced to US$250~255/ton, said European traders. In fact, the real demand for scrap is only about 1000~2000 tons recently in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Turkish steel mills to start purchase
Most of Turkish steel mills have started to purchase Russian and Ukrainian low-price square billet in order to replenish their stock. The market price of mixed scrap (H1&H2) is about US$220~223/ton CFR in Turkey. On the other hand, the market price of hi-quality scraps such as A3 scrap, P&S scrap is around US$225/ton CFR.Moreover, A3 scrap is CFR Turkey $220/ton and for H1 & H2 (90:10) mixed fragment scarp is CFR Turkey $233.5/ton. However, American and Russian scrap offers are not competitive enough for the time being. Russian square billet price consecutively slides which recent offer is FOB $320/ton. Such cheap price really attracts Turkish electric furnace mills.

Chinese steelmakers want iron ore price to decline
Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group have been requested to cut their iron ore prices by 40 percent to 50 percent this year by Chinese steelmakers. Most China’s steelmakers are waiting for the negotiation results and then decide how to do the next.