Daily Steel News - 30 Apr 09

SE Asian imported rebar prices creeping upwards 

Importers of rebar in Singapore have raised their booking prices to $450/tonne cfr for both Taiwanese- and Korean-origin rebar. Mills exporting to the region are now seeking a higher price of around $470/t cfr.Some trading sources claim that several thousand tonnes of Korean rebar for May/June shipment were recently booked at $465-470/t cfr Singapore. But others say that, in general, these higher prices are not being accepted because domestic prices in Singapore are prevailing at the equivalent of $480-485/t delivered, which leaves insufficient margins for importers. "Prices are creeping up but buying is not in large volumes like last year," a trader in Hong Kong says. Recent bookings of imported rebar from Taiwan and Korea took place at $440-450/t cfr Hong Kong. There are no offers for other origin rebar to the region. Turkish rebar is no longer competitive there. Traders tell SBB that the Turkish mills are aiming for an export price of around $480/t fob which would translate to $530/t cfr.

Daily Steel News - 28 Apr 09

More purchasing sees Chinese billet prices increase

Chinese billet prices have risen from early April, but because of uncertainty about how downstream products will perform, mill sources are unable to predict forward billet prices. Steel Business Briefing is told that billet prices in northern China's Tangshan area have increased by about RMB 50/tonne ($7/t) since 26 April in line with an increase in sales. "Most of the buyers are re-rollers," a local mill source says.

"Although strip-makers are not profitable in the current situation, they still need to protect their market share by keeping on producing," he says. Tangshan mill prices for 150mm Q235 billet are prevailing at RMB 3,020/t ($442/t) on a cash payment basis with 17% VAT. Throughout most of April, prices have fluctuated below 3,000/t. Another Tangshan mill source believes that some re-rollers might think prices have reached the bottom and started to re-stock. This has resulted in more purchasing since the weekend. "But steel prices are volatile these days, and I have no idea whether the long-expected recovery is finally approaching," he says.

Summary of Japanese steel section exports

Japanese steel section exports totaled 38,531 tons, at FOB US$1010.8/ton. Among them, Japan exported 24,125 tons of steel section to Korea, at FOB US$1,041/ton in Feb; zero tons of steel section to US; 2,398 tons of steel section to China, at FOB US$1198.5/ton; and 5,215 tons of steel section went to Taiwan, at FOB US$941.1 tons.

Daily Steel News - 27 APr 09

Billet suppliers push up prices in uncertain SE Asian market

Offer prices of imported billet have moved up to $410-430/tonne cfr Southeast Asia. This includes Taiwanese and Malaysian origin billet. Offers of Russian origin billet are, however, scarce. Several Malaysian mills have recently raised their export prices to $410-420/t fob. "Suppliers are bullish but buyers are not. Buyers are cautious because they worry that prices will plummet like they did before," a trader in Vietnam says. He says that Vietnamese buyers are generally bidding at up to $400/t cfr whereas offers are around $410-415/t cfr. Local trading sources in the Philippines tell Steel Business Briefing Taiwanese-origin billet for June shipment was booked in the past two weeks at $405/t cfr and Russian billet for July shipment at $400/t cfr. "Offer prices are now a minimum of $415/t cfr," a local trader says. 

Iron ore reference price rises by 2% - The Steel Index

The reference price for 62% Fe content iron ore fines increased by $1.20/dry metric tonne to $60.60/dmt CFR Tianjin port, China. However, the reference price for 58% Fe fines is down at $50.50/dmt CFR Tianjin port.

 

Capesize freight rates rise on congestion and ore demand

Shipbrokers tell Steel Business Briefing. Tubarão-Rotterdam rates firmed from $8.20/tonne on 15 27/04/09 15/23 April to $9.40/t on 23 April, while Australia-China shipments increased from $6.50/t to $7.80/t. Tubarão-China movements experienced the strongest gains, as expected by brokers, rising from $16.75/t to $19.50/t. Congestion has also played a part, they say, with the average wait off China now above nine days up from eight a week ago. Over 100 Capesize ships are queued off Australia, China and Brazil, which has also helped to firm rates by restricting vessel supply. India-China Supramax rates are now pegged at around $10.30/t as a result of stronger grain activity and higher ore shipments across the Pacific and Atlantic basins.

Daily Steel News - 25 Apr 09

Turkey's billet, wire rod prices rise
Because of the increased demand for rebar, Turkey's steel billet price has increased. Turkey's steel billet export price rose to FOB US$265-375/ton. Ukraine's steel billet export price (export to Turkey) reached CFR US$385/ton, up by US$20/ton compared with last two weeks. Last week, Turkey's wire rod prices also enjoyed an increase. The wire rod prices in Turkey, Algeria, Egypt and Dubai hit US$470-480/ton, up by US$20/tons. Turkey's domestic wire rod ex-factory price reached US$450-460/ton, rose by US$10-20/ton in recent two weeks.

Celsa Group to raise steel long product price
The Spanish steel manufacturer, the Celsa Group, has announced that it will raise its steel long product price, including new prices for rebar and steel sections. Since the weakness in global steel demand has continued for quite a long time, steel rebar and billet price has recently risen by about €50/ton (USD66). Because of the rising scrap price in the global steel market, people expect the whole market situation to improve next week. Celsa's price announcement has also had an influence on other European markets; the rebar price had increased €30/ton (USD40) last week and is expected to rise another €30/ton later on. The average price for recent rebar transactions is about €400/ton (USD530)

Japanese H2 scrap average prices up
During the third week of April, the average price of H2 scrap in Japanese Kanto region, middle part and Kansai region was ￥19,477/ton (USD200), up by ￥1,411/ton (USD140) from previous week. The H2 scrap price in Kanto region increased by ￥2,000/ton to ￥21,250/ton (USD213) from previous week, and the price soared ￥900/ton to ￥18,280/ton in the middle region, and meanwhile the price in Kansai region was￥18,900/ton, an increase of ￥1,333/ton compared to the last week.

Daily Steel News - 24 Apr 09

Hyundai to lift rebar sales prices from May
Hyundai Steel will raise its domestic rebar sales prices by KRW 20-30,000/tone ($15-22/t) from May, blaming this on the need to offset higher scrap prices and fixed costs. The rise will take its sales price for 10mm diameter bars for direct supply to contractors to KRW 760-770,000/t ($561-569/t). The mini-mill's list price for its bars remains at KRW 831,000/t ($617/t). Korean scrap prices have been rising recently, with EAF makers near Busan on the southeast coast now paying KRW 400-420,000/t ($295-310/t) for Shindachi grade, a rise of KRW 40-50,000/t from the beginning of this month. Other Korean rebar makers seem likely to raise their prices too, with one suggesting a rise of KRW 20,000/t from next month is under consideration, though a decision is still pending. Consumers are likely to buy more rebar once they realize prices are about to increase. "However, we are concerned whether the sales may suddenly decrease from next month once consumers have secured sufficient inventories at their yards," he tells Steel Business Briefing. But contractors seem cool to the possibility of a price hike from next month. "This is the last chance for rebar makers to lift prices in the first half of this year so they are eager to push up prices now. However, the weak rebar demand will not help," a source from Korea Construction Procurement Part Association said.

Japan's rebar export prices to Korea up
Japan steel rebar price has slightly increased and being quoted at ￥48,000~50,000/ton to Korean market. The contract price of steel rebar in mid-April is around ￥45,000/ton. Korean rebar importers said that the Japanese steel producers adjust the export price to the level of domestic demand since they are worrying about trade disputes and the possibility of price increase may continue. It is reported that Korea importers are holding low stock and some importers is increasing selling prices in order to increase import quantity.

US hollow section price drops

Since last week, U.S. distributors expected the hollow section steel price to be adjusted down by at least US$44/ton, but so far, there is no officially announced steel price adjustment. Nevertheless, some customers had received the offer after the cut. It is estimated that in the U.S. domestic market the prices of ASTM A500 Grade A and B, 6 "and below standard will be down at least by US$44/ton to US$717-739/ton. For some large orders and special specifications products, prices may be even lower. It’s also forecasted that the price in the next month will be slightly down further after this price cut, at present, the U.S. plate market has yet to show signs of a warmer.

Ann Joo Resources receives big overseas orders
Ann Joo Resources Bhd, the biggest steelmaker by stock market value got an overseas big order of 40,000 tons to 50,000 tons in the past two weeks. It seems that the overseas sales for the industry are recovering. Its trading increased by 3.3 percent in Kuala Lumpur after the report. The company has resumed full production at its plant in April after two months' shutdown. Economic data from Japan to the US suggest world trade may have bottomed as countries including China roll out stimulus packages.

Malaysian steel market seems rebound
With the rebound of steel demand and price in the Malaysian market, the mills which produce the long products will be in the black again soon. During last month, the steel demand rose by 15 percent while the stock continued to fall further. Masteel said that the price of the long product has increased by 10-15 percent since the bottom level in last December and this January. It is said that the main reason of the recovery in the local market attributed to the cancellation of the Chinese steel products. The left supply gap will be supplemented by Turkish, Taiwan and local mills.

Daily Steel News - 23 Apr 09

Weak real estate market depresses Chinese steel demand
China's domestic steel demand and prices are likely to remain weak over the rest of 2009, The real estate sector consuming around 125m tonnes of steel equivalent to 25% of China's total steel consumption is likely to fall by 20-30% in 2009-10.

Northern China braces for massive overcapacity of HRC
With several major iron making facilities set to be commissioned in northern China in the next couple of months, China could witness significant growth of hot rolled coil (HRC) production in May and June, Steel Business Briefing learns. Mills and traders contacted by SBB believe steel market demand could rebound slightly in May and June. But new capacity coming on stream is likely to undermine any price
gains.

Daily Steel News - 22 Apr 09

Hai Kwang cuts rebar price this week
After Taiwan’s Feng Hsin announced its rebar base price for this week; another major Taiwan steel rebar manufacturer, Hai Kwang, also reduced its rebar price by NTD$500/ton (USD15/mt) this week.The company’s rebar base price hit the same level as Feng Hsin’s, which is NTD$14,000/ton (USD425/mt). Both companies said this is really their bottom price for rebar at this moment, and that it would be impossible for them to reduce their price again in the near future. However, some buyers said that since the rainy season is coming soon and actual market demand remains weak, they don't think those rebar mills can hold this price for very long.

Iran's I-beam prices fall
In recent two weeks, Iran's domestic I-beam prices fell sharply. Iran's 140-180mm I-beam prices reached US$730-780/ton, down by US$20/ton compared with last week, also dropped by US$40-45/ton than last two weeks.Meanwhile, Iran's 80-140mm U channel prices hit US$600-650/ton, down by US$15-20/ton.Iran's angel price continued to rise, which has reached US$580-630/ton, up by US$30-50/ton compared with last week.

Turkey lifts rebar export price
Turkish rebar price goes up in line with more demands and increases of scarp and square billet prices; the current Turkish rebar export price is US$465~$490/ton. Turkey offers higher price to Egypt because Egypt requests the immediate shipment. Besides, even thought the construction industry may be benefit by good weather, Turkish distributors are hesitating if it’s right time to purchase because the Turkish end users’ demands are not more and the rebar price consecutively enhances. Meanwhile, UAE’s rebar market slightly revives recently; however, UAE’s importers are trying not to increase the stock, the settle price for some resources between Turkish steel mills is about CFR Dubai US$465/ton. It’s said that Turkish rebar mills may raise the offers to UAE, but UAE’s market is facing the cash flow problem and retardation of construction industry nowadays.

Daily Steel News - 20 Apr 09

CIS billet and rebar export prices strengthen
According to the sources, prices of billet sold last week from Russia were $360/tone fob Black Sea and $340/t fob Black Sea for Belarusian billet. European and Turkish producers are said to be selling at $500/t cfr North Africa and Middle East, and there are apparently no offers from Russia at the moment. With the construction season upon us and half of capacity slashed, this appears to have worked and the market is firming more," another trader comments.

Scrap prices continue to rise in Asia; Korean mills active
The price of bulk heavy melting scrap 1&2 80:20 in east Asia is prevailing at $255-260/tonne cfr. One 30,000t cargo of US-origin shredded (70%) and 80:20 (30%) was booked for May shipment at slightly below $270/t cfr south Vietnam. A Taiwanese steel mill was reported by some trading sources to have booked bulk HMS 80:20 from USA at $260/t cfr. One cargo is for May shipment, the other for June. No other reported deals for bulk scrap were heard. The Korean mills were actively booking deep sea scrap, with most recent bookings made more than a week ago at $250/t cfr for HMS 1. Hyundai Steel is believed to be keen to book some more bulk deep sea scrap cargoes. Containerised 80:20 is being offered at $255-260/t cfr Singapore. Offers of containerised 80:20 from UAE and USA to Vietnam are higher-priced at around $270/t cfr. A Vietnamese trader says that scrap buyers will soon switch to billet importing if scrap prices continue to rise. Trading sources report that the Chinese are absent from the import markets. A Chinese trader tells Steel Business Briefing that the higher prices have deterred the Chinese from booking scrap. Japanese scrap was booked by Hyundai at ¥23,000/t fob ($232) for H2 grade during the week ending 17 April, up from the previous week's ¥22,500/t fob. YK Steel booked H2 scrap at ¥23,200/t. "The Korean mills continue to book Japanese scrap," a trader in Seoul tells SBB, citing the slowdown in local scrap collection and higher asking prices for domestic scrap. Around 60-70% of Korean mills' scrap requirement is met by domestic sources.

Chinese iron ore traders pessimistic about Q2
Second quarter 2009 is looking bleak for Chinese iron ore traders, especially smaller firms, who complain about the successful sales promotions of the major miners over recent months. They don't expect to see a significant recovery in the market during the first half of this year. A southern Chinese iron ore trader tells Steel Business Briefing that the company's current strategy is to focus more on low grade Indian iron ore which is usually much cheaper than the same grade of ore from major miners. so as to avoid direct competition with the big Brazilian or Australian producers. Currently, high grade Indian ore of 63% fe and above cannot compete against Australian or Brazil ore in terms of price or quality, but the low grade Indian ore prices are still attractive to some Chinese buyers. Indian fines of 63.5% Fe are currently around $62-64/dry metric tonne cfr China while 53% Fe Indian fines are only about $35-36/dmt. "The price difference between different grades of Indian iron ore is larger than between different grades of Australia or Brazil ore. This gives some business opportunities to us," the trader says. Traders with large stocks may suffer should the benchmark price be deeply cut. A Beijing-based trader says his firm is already struggling to sell ore at hand, so a large benchmark price cut will make their situation worse. "Iron ore demand won't rise significantly in the next couple of months so we just hope ore prices remain stable," he says.

Daily Steel News - 18 Apr 09

Iron ore price likely to drop by 30% at least
Annual iron ore price-contract negotiations between the world's biggest miners from worldwide and steelmakers from China are intermitting because steel makers from China still disagree with contract price of miners from worldwide. But, most experts predicted steelmakers from China will possibly win sharp discounts from last year's price finally. Nearly 80 percent of iron ore around the world is sold to China's steel makers every year. Steelmakers side said due to the economy slowdown and weak demand, iron ore price should be half cut from 2008 levels, which would mean 2009 price of down to about US$40~45 dropping from US$82.5~87.5 of 2008. Iron-ore producers side think likely iron-ore price will cut at least 30 percent.

Daily Steel News - 17 Apr 09

Vietnam to impose 10% import duty on boron-added longs
Vietnam's ministry of finance is to impose a 10% duty on imports of boron-added long products, sources in the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) tell Steel Business Briefing. The new duty is the government's response to a VSA proposal to impose a duty of 15% on boron-added long products to ensure that imports from China do not evade the import duty for construction long products. That duty is currently 15%. "We know that (Vietnamese importers) evaded tax because these imports were not more expensive than carbon steel products," the VSA official says. Importers of alloy steel products required for higher end-purposes (such as engineering) will still qualify for the 0% import duty, he notes, because there is no local production of alloy steel products in Vietnam. Though official confirmation has yet to be received, SBB believes that the new duty will take effect from 20 April. VSA sources say that 26,000-28,000 tonnes of boron-added wire rod were imported from China into Vietnam from January to date, under the category of alloy steel products that face 0% import tax. Boron-added steel exports from China also benefit from Beijing's 5-13% export rebate on .specialty' steels instead of being slapped with an export duty of 5%-15% for carbon construction long products. SBB is told that VSA has also proposed that the duty be extended to other long steel products which have added chemical elements, other than boron, in order to qualify as alloy-steel products if the products are to be used for construction purposes.

What is…...boron steel?
The addition of boron to steel allows the achievement of high strength after hardening by heat treatment, but offers a workable material to the fabricator or manufacturer when in the as-delivered condition. Boron is often added to medium carbon steels to achieve an in-service performance comparable to high carbon and more costly low alloy steels (rather than increasing their carbon and manganese content or adding chromium and molybdenum - with the attendant penalty of reduced ductility during fabrication). The amount of boron which is added to achieve these characteristics is very small, in the range 0.0005-0.005%. Traditional applications for boron steels are in wear applications such as shovels/spades, caterpillar tracks, plough shares, punches, also some spring steels, and more recently in automotive car bodies. Here they have been developed into high strength sheet steels for parts of the body shell and chassis - such as door sills, door pillar reinforcement, cross members, safety beams and bumper reinforcements.

Daily Steel News - 16 Apr 09

Iran billet market revives, prices advance
The Iranian billet market has lifted prices about $20/tonne in two weeks. A private re-roller added: "CIS billet is quoted at $385-390/t cif Iranian northern port... We have some offers from Russian producers quoting their material at $350-360/t fob." The Iran Mercantile Exchange has also been active in billet trading this week. Severstal-origin square billet traded at IRR
3,930,000/t ($398/t), and another Russian producer Mechel's billet sold for IRR 3,810,000/t ($386/t) cif northern port of Iran.

Tokyo Steel chasing monthly, not yearly, prices
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing is requesting its newly won customers in the electronics and auto sectors to agree to monthly rather than annual price contracts for its flat-rolled products. This will help it avoid the problems of rapidly changing scrap prices, company president Toshikazu
Nishimoto has told industry daily, the Tekko Shimbun. But major Japanese customers prefer long-term steel price contractts, and the integrated mills have traditionally agreed because until recently their raw materials, wages and most other costs were determined annually. "But our scrap purchase prices change very often, so it is difficult for us to have an annual contract," a Tokyo Steel spokesman says, noting that H2 scrap prices rose to ¥70,000/t ($710/t) last summer before plunging below ¥20,000/t. It is too dangerous for mini mills to have contracts
with customers on a yearly basis, he said.

Daily Steel News - 14 Apr 09

Malaysian mills raise billet export offer prices
Malaysian mills are aiming to export their billet at $400/t fob or $420-425/ cfr Southeast Asia, trading sources tell Steel Business Briefing. Deals were concluded recently at $380-390/t fob. The destination markets include Vietnam . for deals concluded at $400-410/t cfr in the past 1-2 weeks . and to the Middle East at $390/t fob. A Ho Chi Minh-based trader tells SBB. He estimates more than 30,000 tonnes of Malaysian billet will arrive in the second half of this month and this will account for 70-80% of billet imports. Nobody knows whether the market is going up or down. There are few new billet bookings because prices are too high, trading sources say. "Buying of billet appears to have stopped again," a trader in Singapore notes. "The price increase for scrap and billet recently is artificial because the fundamentals cannot support these higher prices," he adds. "Billet (import) prices are around hot rolled coil (import) prices or higher," a trader in Taipei notes. He says that this situation cannot last.

Pig iron, HMS scrap prices relatively stable in east Asia
The east Asian import market for basic pig iron remains quiet and prices are prevailing at around $270/t cfr, unchanged from four weeks ago. Last week, a Taiwanese mill booked 40,000 tonnes of pig iron from Brazil and Russia at $268-269/t cfr. The bulk consignment is for May shipment. Offers to China for spot cargoes from Brazil and Russia are priced at approximately $270/t cfr, Chinese trading sources tell Steel Business Briefing. Korea's Dongkuk Steel late last week concluded another deep-sea cargo with Schnitzer Steel Industries at $250/t cif for No.1 heavy melting scrap (HMS) for June/July arrival.

Daily Steel News - 13 Apr 09

Japanese rebars surge into Korea
The volume of Japan-origin rebars being shipped to Korea over the past few months has climbed markedly as Korean importers respond to the country's peak demand season of April to mid-May. "During the high season, Japanese rebar is likely to account for almost 100% of imported rebar in Korea," according to Choi Hyun-Seok, chairman of the Korea Steel Importers' Association. During January-March, Korea's rebar import volume climbed from 20,100 tonnes to 40,090 t and to 62,800 t. Within that total, Japanese rebar accounted for 72,000 t whereas Chinese bars reached only 32,900 t. Choi expects total April imports to reach 50,000 t. mostly from Japan . before declining slightly in May. For the time being, Japanese rebar is more competitive in both price and quality in the Korean market compared with domestic and Chinese bars. "There is almost no Chinese rebar arriving these days," Choi tells Steel Business Briefing. During January-February according to Korean customs data, the average price of Japanese rebar stood at $497/tonne compared with $604/t for Chinese bars. The Japanese landed price is also much lower than prevailing sales prices from Korean makers of KRW 740,000/t ($558/t). Hyundai Steel's list price remains at a high of KRW 831,000/t ($627/t) for 10mm dia bars. The Japanese rebar exports have also been helped by the fact that five Japanese mini mills have secured Korean Standards (KS) certification for their bars. Several Japanese mini mills based in eastern Japan including Tokyo Kohtetsu and Tokyo Tekko forecast slightly higher steel output during the present April-June quarter largely on the expectation of good export business, as SBB reported.

Chinese rebar producers cut prices by adding boron
Chinese rebar producers have cut prices by adding vanadium or boron to the rebar in a bid to benefit from the 13% export tax rebate introduced in April. Eastern China's Shagang is heard offering for vanadium added rebar at $460/tonne, similar to other mills in northern China. As Steel Business Briefing has reported, Shagang's early March export prices were $550/t fob. But even with the reductions, mills say it remains difficult for them to make deals in the face of more competitive prices from other countries and weak demand overall. "Southeast Asian clients can accept no more than $410 cfr; and Japanese offers to Korea are heard at only about $430-440/t cfr," a trader says. Another trader in Shanghai tells SBB that he has received offers from a Middle Eastern trader looking to sell rebar for $360/t fob. The materials were sourced from China last year but the client now wants to ship the goods back to China because there are no customers in the Middle East. "Though sounding very low, it's no cheaper than buying domestic products once you count freight rates, VAT and port handling costs. We'd rather directly source from Chinese producers as their rebar is new without any serious rust problems," he says. Domestic prices for 16-25mm HRB335 have picked up slightly by some RMB 40/t to about RMB 3,120/t ($457/t), with 17% VAT.

Daily Steel News - 10 Apr 09

Higher priced billet pushes buyers into scrap - WSR
The recent higher billet prices from Russia and Ukraine were a major factor in Turkish buyers returning to the scrap market in volume. By early April, they had bought at least 35 cargoes. However, the question remains as to whether there is sufficient continuing global demand to support the rising prices. Regional scrap prices rose in the second half of March by some 20/tonne, whilst rebar is at $450/t fob Turkey: Iraq remains a strong buyer. In Southeast Asia, rebar prices also rebounded slightly to $410-415/t cfr, though locals said demand is not so strong. Billet too appeared to be stabilising. Rebar prices in the USA, meanwhile, were steady at around $500/s.t.

Scrap import prices stable in India
Scrap import prices into India have been stable over the past month, in contrast to the swings in international prices."The situation has not changed much from mid-March," a Mumbai-based trader tells Steel Business Briefing. He claimed to have just concluded a deal for 7,000 tonnes of industrial HMS1&2 80:20 of Brazilian origin at a net price of $250/tonne cfr Nhava Sheva port on India's west coast. Brazilian-origin is lower priced because of the long 44-day voyage it needs to get to India, he adds. SBB hears that prevailing prices for Dubai-origin containerized 80:20 are around $280/t cfr Nhava Sheva whereas Netherlands-origin was sold at $255/t cfr this week. "South African 80:20 has been sold at $270-275/t cfr Nhava Sheva," a north Indian importer tells SBB. "I have an offer for excellent quality HMS 1 rom Belgium which is almost 100% reusable for $300/t cfr," another trader says. "But the general price range has been stable this month at $250-260/t cfr west India, with fluctuations of only around $10/t." Russian HMS 80:20 and cast iron scrap are being offered at $245/t cfr and $275-280/t cfr west India, a south Indian trader tells SBB. HMS 80:20 from the US is being transacted at levels of $245/t cfr west India. Re-rollable scrap is being offered from Dubai and Kuwait at $370/t cfr, SBB understands.

Daily Steel News - 9 Apr 09

Korean billet imports soar in March
Korean import volumes of square billet, HR and rebar all increased in March. Japanese offers and material were more competitive than others in this price war. The square billet import quantity was 30,000 tons higher than February due to reduction of import price and peak season average settle price was about US$422/ton. Besides, the import HR volume was much enhanced in March with about 70 percent imported from Japan. Meanwhile, Korean import volume of rebar lifted significantly as well because of a plunge in Japanese rebar export price and strong demand. The average import price of Japanese rebar was US$472/to

Daily Steel news - 6 Apr 09

Billet prices rising despite weak fundamentals in SE Asia
Traders are surprised that billet import prices are firming quickly in southeast Asia because the finished product markets there are still weak. Traders tell Steel Business Briefing that recent bookings are not large volumes and are for quick shipments on a "need basis." While traders say that offer prices for Russian billet are prevailing at around $385/t cfr in the region including Thailand and the Philippines, there are higher-priced deals reported. Bookings in the Philippines for Taiwanese 5sp/ps billet were at $405/t cfr late last week after an earlier booking at $398/t cfr. Vanadium-added Russian origin billet was booked at $395/t cfr Taiwan around ten days ago. Russian commercial billet was heard booked at $390/t cfr Vietnam. Many traders are not confident that prices can move up much more and say that recent higher-priced bookings are by rerollers who need material urgently because they had stopped importing for some time. "I think that there will be great resistance at $410-420/t cfr," a trader in Singapore says. "It is confusing now. No one can afford to take risks because who knows how the market will move?" a Taipei trader asks. "The price will not be able to hold at much higher levels because there is no real demand," a trader in the Philippines notes. Taiwanese and Malaysian mills are aiming to export at $390/t fob. A Vietnamese importer, however, says that demand in the country will be better during this quarter as it is the seasonal period for higher bar consumption, adding that billet prices can move up "a little more."

Vietnam Steel Corp cuts domestic prices for bar and rod
Vietnam Steel Corp (VNsteel) reduced the domestic prices of its long products by VND 200,000-560,000/tone ($11-31/t) with effect from 1 April in order to make its prices more competitive, company sources tell Steel Business Briefing. The price of its wire rod products is now around VND 9.6m/t ($531/t) and that for debar VND 10.0-10.3m/t. "Wire rods from overseas are priced lower especially from Asean countries and demand in Vietnam has not been good," a source tells SBB. "But the market should improve in the near future because it is the seasonal construction period for private housing projects. Also, new government projects are expected to start from next month," he adds. VNsteel supplies around 24% of the domestic market for long products, SBB understands. The Vietnamese authorities recently raised the export duty on construction long products from 12% to 15%. However, the preferential duty on imports from Asean countries remains at 0%. (See separate report on Vietnam Steel Association's proposal to limit imports.)

Korean mill targets higher H-beam exports
The country's total H-beam export volume during the two months increased by 11% year-on-year to 158,400 t, Kosa notes. Surprisingly, Canada was the largest buyer taking 33,800 t, compared with last year's 2,760 t. "The volume (to Canada) was booked during November-December when the buying sentiment there was still good," a Korean trader in Seoul said. The second-largest export market was Saudi Arabia which bought 16,000 t. Korean traders are now eyeing large export volumes to Southeast Asia during the second half. SBB is told that traders are offering metric-sized H-beams to Southeast Asia
at around $500-540/t cfr, an increase of $20-30/t over the past two weeks. By contrast, the Korean domestic price for 600x300mm beams is KRW 880,000/t ($656/t). However, export prices are likely to be flat in Q2 in the region, one Korean trader believes. Korea's only other rolled H-beam producer is Dongkuk Steel Mill which produced nearly 1.1m t of beams last year and exported 157,000 t.

Daily Steel News - 3 Apr 09

Global billet prices up
Global billet prices have increased by US$60/ton to US$400/ton, but the slab market was still sluggish. On the other side, slab prices are being prevailing at US$340 to 360/ton in the market, continuing its downward trend amid low demand. Rising billet prices are supported by increasing demand. Actually, many countries have initialed some package to stimulate economic by pushing domestic demand. Therefore, the demand for construction steel has rebounded.

Daily Steel News - 1 Apr 09

Asian H-beam import prices slip on lower demand
The regional mills are exporting their imperial sized H-beams at $570-580/tonne cfr to Singapore and Malaysia, according to regional market sources. This compares with offer prices from these mills of $610-630/t cfr in the middle of March. Chinese metric-sized H-beams were last booked at $520/t cfr Singapore. The deal involved a few thousand tonnes and was concluded around two weeks ago, a trader reports. He is bullish that prices will soon rise because of the recent improvement in sentiment for scrap and billet.

62% Fe iron ore price at new low, says The Steel Index
The reference price for 62% Fe content iron ore fines dropped by 3% to $59.10/dry metric tonne CFR Tianjin port, China, which is a new low since these reference prices were first published in November 2008. The reference price for 58% Fe content fines also fell, by a smaller 0.8%, to $51.60/dry metric tonne CFR Tianjin port. Within these delivered prices, the freight cost for two of the three key iron ore routes are reported to have fallen, though there was a slight increase of 3% on the West Australia-China route.

Billet import prices could be stabilising in Asia
Southeast Asian traders believe that billet import prices are likely to stay at current levels, because demand for long products is still weak in the region. Transactions in the Philippines last week reached $380/tonne cfr for a Russian-origin cargo for April shipment and a Taiwanese-origin cargo at $390/t cfr. These involved 5,000t each. Taiwanese 3sp/ps billet was booked at $380/t cfr Vietnam a week ago. "Prices will be sustained and cannot move beyond $400/t cfr," a trader in the Philippines says. Offer prices were last at around $375-380/t cfr for Russian billet late last week but these offers are drying up. "Inventory levels are low among the rerollers, but where is the demand for bars?" a trader in Singapore asks Steel Business Briefing.