The proposed changes are in response to market feedback requesting a change in the price specification to make the price assessment more representative of the cfr Manila steel billet import market.
The Philippines is the largest steel billet importing nation in Southeast Asia and has increased its importance within the region due to Indonesia increasingly raising its purchases of domestic blast furnace (BF) billet and its reliance on Iran-origin material.
Fastmarkets’ daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast Asia excludes prices for Iran-origin billet from its assessment due to the steep price discount between Iran-origin material and BF billet from other popular origins such as Vietnam, India and Russia.
The proposed amendments concern:
1. Changing the price name so that the assessment is on a cfr Manila basis rather than a cfr Southeast Asia basis.
2. Changing the quality of material assessed to a high manganese modified 5sp, with manganese content of 0.8-1%.
The proposed new specifications are as follows:
MB-STE-0141 Steel billet import, cfr Manila, $/tonne
Quality: 120x120mm to 150x150mm, length 12m, modified 5sp, manganese content of 0.8-1%
Quantity: 5,000-50,000 tonnes
Location: cfr Manila (other Southeast Asian ports to be normalized)
Timing: 6-10 weeks
Unit: US dollar/tonne
Payment terms: Letter of credit
Publication: Daily, 5-6pm Singapore time
The consultation period for the propped changes starts Wednesday December 30 and will end on February 1. The proposed changes, subject to market feedback, will be implemented on February 3.
To provide feedback on the proposed amendments to the specification, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to Fastmarkets’ steel billet pricing, please contact Lee Allen by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Lee Allen, re: Southeast Asia steel billet price.”
To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology
