[ferro-alloys.com]A large price gap between sellers and buyers led to a stalemate in the Chinese billet import market for almost three weeks since early September, while buyers in the Philippines instead accelerated purchases amid recovering steel demand.

Spot prices in China sharply fell to an 11-week low on Sept. 21. As a result, several major Chinese billet importers saw the import window closing as overseas offers decreased at a slower pace, thus widening price ideas.

Tangshan Q235 billet was assessed at Yuan 3,400/mt ($501/mt) Sept. 22, down Yuan 170/mt ($26/mt) from its peak in the year on Sept. 3.

Domestic traders dropped offers to cut positions amid lackluster spot trading activities, however, buyers were still showing limited interest, a local trader said.

As a result, buying indications fell to $430-$435/mt CFR China for 3SP 150 mm material amid bearish sentiment. Limited offers were received at over $450/mt CFR China for December shipment, widening the bid-ask gap to $15-$20/mt, above a $5/mt gap seen at the start of September.

Only one CFR China basis deal was seen in September for the week ended Sept. 4, compared with 19 in August and 21 in July, spot market data compiled by S&P Global Platts showed.

"Billet import has come to an end, and I start to look for export chances of long steel products," an eastern China trader said Sept. 22.

Several major importers agreed the arbitrage window for billet importing may have closed, at least for a short term, stopping their billet purchases for a few weeks.

Sources also added, that it was difficult to tell when China might resume billet imports again, while domestic prices remained pressured.

Philippine purchases stable

In contrast, rebar makers in the Philippines showed a stronger appetite for billet purchases from Russia, Vietnam, India and Indonesia, amid a steady capacity utilization.

Platts assessed the Southeast Asia 5SP 130 mm billet spot price at $446/mt CFR Manila on Sept. 23, up $4/mt, or 0.9%, from Sept. 3.

In September, 16 billet transactions on a CFR Manila basis have been recorded, compared with 10 in August and 8 in July, Platts data showed.

Leading Philippine rebar producer Steel Asia -- with 2.3 million mt/year of capacity across the country -- continued operating all its six plants at a rate of 65%-70% of total capacity, stable since the start of the third quarter, a company official said Sept. 21.

"Generally, sales have been good and steady for us through this month," he said. "We are quite fortunate to be catering to a few heavy construction projects from both the government and private sectors," he added.

Pag-asa Steel Works, the second biggest rebar producer in the Philippines, located in Manila, kept running its production at over 70%, a company official said Sept. 21.

"We have been actively importing this quarter and will likely continue to do so, as deliveries for rebar also largely stable around 80% of usual monthly sales," said the official from Steel Asia.

Outlook for the fourth quarter showed that steel demand would be stable, company officials from the two rerollers said.

Meanwhile, any large pickup in demand would be until 2021 while the pandemic continues, as the limitations on public transport -- that could affect labor movement to and from the mills -- made both steel production and construction activities hard to improve further.

(S&P Global Platts.com)

• [Editor:王可]