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.
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.
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.
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.
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