Indian export offers for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils have remained unchanged during the past week in the range of $825-830/mt CFR US but transaction volumes have declined as buyers had been seeking lower offers, traders said on Thursday, September 10.
According to a Mumbai-base trader, US buyers were seeking $15-20/mt lower offers as a benefit from the weak Indian currency but exporters were unwilling to adjust offers for the second consecutive week.
The trader said that this led to a fall in transaction volumes but local exporters preferred to hold out.
However another section of market sources said that US steel prices have been retreating, leading to a slowdown in imports and this has contributed towards muted interest in Indian HDG.
Citing a report received in India a source said that during August US steel imports decreased by around seven percent month on month, while several US distributors are anticipating import shipments to ease further in the next few months, translating to lower transactions in the Indian export market.
A Kolkata-based trader said that if the slowdown in shipments persists through the month, Indian HDG exporters would be forced to adjust their offers by another $10-15/mt, amid the depreciating rupee which is still at levels below the INR 66 to a dollar mark.
Meanwhile in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) markets, demand for imported flat product is still weak. Although Indian HDG offers to the region have remained below the $600/mt mark in the range of $580-590/mt CFR Gulf, only negligible volumes have been heard in the market during the past week, sources said.