Indian hot dip galvanized (HDG) export offers have remained unchanged during the past week in the range of $635-650/mt FOB, in an inactive market with US buyers staying away due to import duty uncertainties and with the Gulf market taking a pause for the forthcoming holiday, Indian traders said on Thursday, September 8.
Market sources said that US buyers have indicated that import duties are being revised in the case of a number of flat products following trade cases and that fresh import transactions will have to wait until these issues are resolved.
As for the Gulf markets, the sources said that buyers have preferred not to respond to offers owing to the upcoming Feast of Sacrifice holiday.
“The biggest challenge facing Indian HDG exporters is that, while market volumes have come down steadily to a minimum, exporters at the same time have been losing their pricing power to keep pushing volumes owing to the appreciation of the Indian currency,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
The Indian currency over the past week has been strengthening in the past week, moving to INR 66.35 to the US dollar.