Posted on 23 Dec 2019
The Manila billet market saw offer prices at stable levels last week, Kallanish notes. Buying interest is thin ahead of the long year-end holiday in the Philippines.
Offers for billet from Qatar and Russia are prevailing at $445/tonne cfr Manila, about the same as the week before, trading sources say. “There are lots of offers at this level,” a trader says. The Philippine steel markets were more or less closing for the year. China was no longer in the regional import market, although It had previously been looking for prompt shipments before the year-end.
On Friday, a leading reroller ordered a 20,000-tonne February-shipment cargo for 150mm square 5sp/ps billet from Malaysia at $445/t cfr Manila/Davao, trading sources report. The reroller requires minimum 0.9% manganese content billet which is more expensive. The Malaysian mill's offer for the more popular 0.6% manganese 5sp billet was $440/t cfr Manila, and 3sp billet at $435/t cfr. The same Philippine reroller a week ago ordered 150mm billet from Qatar at $446/t cfr Manila. The reroller "... is short of material for coming January and February," a regional trader notes.
Some traders are surprised by the Malaysian mill’s offer because it rarely supplies to the Philippine market. “The mill is unloading excess capacity,” a trader says. Another describes the sale as “… one-shot deal” for its order-books before the year-end.
Earlier in the week, 8,000t of Indian-origin blast furnace billet was booked at $440/t cfr Manila, which is unchanged from a previous Indian billet booking concluded early 13 December week.
On Friday, Kallanish lowered its 5sp/ps or Q275 120/125/130mm square billet assessment to $440-445/t cfr Manila, down $3.5/t on week.
