Philippines Billet Imports Surge 42% M-o-M in Oct’19

In Oct’19, Philippines billet imports were recorded at 224,452 MT to register a growth of 42.1 % against Sep’19. Meanwhile, country’s imports have registered a Y-o-Y growth of 8.9% during the same period under consideration. During Oct’18 the country’s imports were at 206,148 MT

During Sep’19, dull domestic demand and piling inventories level in India has upturned the country’s interest towards SE Asia. This has resulted in disparity between bids offers, as; Indian marketers started offering billets at competitive prices with Russia and Iran. Meanwhile, buyers from SE Asia/Philippines were also trying to pull down the offers and preferred to be in wait and watch position. This has created the price war between and India, Russian and Iran in the region and has resulted in limited trades during Sep’19.

SteelMint’s assessment for SE Asia billet import was recorded at USD 400-405/MT, CFR in end of Oct’19

When in Oct’19, the Chinese government announced production curbs, the trade space for these countries; India, Russia and Iran, got widen up and Philippines along with SE Asia went trade active. The event was supported by Turkey’s imported scrap prices, which have started rebounding since Oct’19 and are still maintaining the pace. Since then, Turkey’s imported scrap prices have managed to keep the billet market sentiments robust. Below table figures say it all.