Indian HDG exporters have stepped up their efforts to push volumes to the US market, persisting with $10-15/mt cuts in offers at around $860/mt CFR, anticipating a shift in interest to ex-India HDG away from ex-China HDG, traders said on Wednesday, July 9.
Two Mumbai-based traders said that, according to reports received in India, many US steel distributors are not inclined to accept ex-China HDG offers as the possibility of trade action has heightened.
Trade action against ex-China flat steel products including HDG may be expected within the next month or so, but local Indian traders and exporters are hoping that India will escape the action, the traders said.
"Of course, India, Taiwan and South Korea are also on the radar for trade action along with China. But players in the local Indian market are expecting India to remain unscathed since its shipment volumes have been far lower compared to those from China," one trader said.
"Besides, several US distributors have stopped bookings for Chinese origin flat products but have been accepting Indian offers," he said.
"Taking this as a positive, Indian HDG exporters have adopted an aggressive pricing strategy reducing offers by $10-15/mt, with a few exporters adding volume discounts of around $10/mt. This is all in anticipation of US buyers shifting their interest to Indian products. Actual transactions and shipments would, however, depend entirely on how trade action in the US market unfolds over the next month," he added.
Meanwhile, market sources said that demand in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets has remained stable despite Ramadan, and healthy transaction volumes have been reported in the market in the range of $720-730/mt CFR.