While Chinese suppliers have this week chosen to increase their HRC offers, Emirati customers have remained mute as regards imports, possibly due to adequate stocks and insufficient business activity in the domestic market, especially for coated products. Despite the current silence in the UAE, buyers continue to seek lower prices, while South Korean and Japanese suppliers have decided to keep their prices unchanged week on week.
According to reports, ex-China HRC offers for SAE1006 grade have increased by just $10/mt week on week to $570- 575/mt CFR, for December shipment. However, according to re-rollers, some Chinese suppliers are still offering HRC at around $560-565/mt CFR, but in the present conditions these prices are too low and appear unachievable.
Meanwhile, South Korean and Japanese suppliers have continued to maintain offers at $590-600/mt CFR and $580-585/mt CFR for November and December shipments respectively.
On the other hand, Indian suppliers continue to refrain from offering to the UAE and instead are concentrating on their domestic market, because of lower price expectations and the unattractiveness of trading with the UAE.