SINGAPORE January 28 2016 10:02 AM     

SINGAPORE (Scrap Register): ASEAN  hot rolled cold (HRC) steel import prices (CFR ASEAN port) edged up by $1 a ton  week-on-week to $292 a ton in the week ended January 22, as per the latest  figures released by The Steel Index.

According to TSI, ASEAN HRC  remained broadly stable during the week, closing Wednesday at $292 a ton CFR  ASEAN port.

Market activity, on the whole, was slow, with buying  interest limited. However, transactions did slightly pick up towards the end of  the week, with participants noting Friday was the final day for booking March  shipment cargoes.

For the first time in recent  memory, the title of the lowest-priced seller did not go to China, but instead  to Russia, where ruble weakness helped exporter’s lower asking prices to below  Chinese and Japanese offer levels.

Noticeably, Russian steel producer MMK  concluded deals between $271-282 a ton for varying grades of HR coil, with a  total volume of around 100kt changing hands over the past two weeks.

In  the face of competitive prices from other regions, Chinese traders seem to have  no better strategy, as local mills are unwilling to accept lower bids amid  higher domestic prices.