Hot rolled coil (HRC) demand has started to slow down in the Egyptian flat steel market due to the local steel mill EZDK's downward price revision in early July and also due to the approach of Ramadan. However, market players claim that the volume of price inquires has not yet decreased significantly. Demand is expected to strengthen after Ramadan, while traders have already started to stock up ahead of this anticipated improvement in demand.
In the meantime, HRC prices in the local Egyptian market stand at EGP 4,100/mt ($676/mt) ex-works. Meanwhile, ex-Egypt August output HRC offers are at $640-660/mt FOB base level.
$ 1 = EGP 6.065