Japan Billet Export Price Drops by US$ 20 to Southeast Asia

Japanese billet export price, made by electric furnace steel makers, dropped by about US$ 20 per tonne when ferrous scrap price decreased and Chinese cheap billet impacted the market. Ferrous scrap price is likely to decline more. Billet export price may continue lowering.

The current export price is around FOB US$ 410 per tonne to Southeast Asia for September shipment. Importers in Southeast Asia required price cut to Japanese billet makers since ferrous scrap price decreased by 2,000-3,000 yen per tonne for few weeks. Japanese makers are negative to conclude new export contracts, afraid of taking losses.

Chinese billet export price is FOB US$ 370-380 per tonne. However, Japanese makers can’t decrease the export price more than Chinese billet price. Because yen exchange rate is rising, Japanese makers will keep cautious price policies.