It is reported that there is no buyer for slabs even at a low price level of USD 350 per tonne FOB after spot prices are thought to have sunken to that level in the slab market in Asia.

A spot price level of USD 350 per tonne FOB defies a slab export deal that will meet the cost of blast furnace feed for an integrated steelworks in Japan. In this connection, an integrated steel company of Japan recently considered slab exports out of stock, but gave up the idea at the final stage.

Japanese integrated steelmakers are in separate moves to reduce their manufacture of various steel products, mainly those for automotive materials. But they favor cutbacks at a moderate speed in crude steel production because a sudden fall in blast furnace operations threatens to damage the body of a blast furnace. As a result, they face a continued increase in stocks of semi finished steel products at their works.

The world"s slab transaction prices stood at a level of USD 1,150 per tonne C&F for products from Brazil until the July to September 2008 quarter. Until now, though, spot slab prices are said to have fallen to a level of USD 350 per tonne FOB in the world"s plunging slab demand due mainly to steel production cutbacks in the West.