Futures offers for both
US import base-price hot dipped
galvanized (HDG) and Galvalume coil continue to fluctuate “almost daily,” sources note, adding that global upticks in hot rolled coil (HRC) pricing has many
coated steel mills offering “with one-day availability only.”
“Sure we’re getting offers but what we’re seeing is that the offers that we’re getting are only good for a day,” one trader source notes. “The prices are so all over the place that it’s hard to pinpoint what the official quoted price is. There is no such thing as a steady price,” he adds.
Current ex-Brazilian futures offer prices from one mill to the
US 0.019’ x41.5625’ Gr80/AZ55 Galvalume coil have firmed by approximately $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since our last report a week ago, bringing the current range to $38.00-$38.50 ($838-$849/m tot $760-$770/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports.
As with last week, ex-Brazilian futures offer prices for base-price HDG coil from one mill are still being heard in the approximate range of $31.00-$32.00 cwt.
($683-$705/mt or $620-$640/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports, although trader sources have said that mills’ desired transaction price is “definitely at the top of that range.”
Other sources close to SteelOrbis have noted that while HDG futures offers from Indian steelmakers continue to be heard in the approximate range of $780-795/mt CFR, that many
US-based buyers are still “extremely wary” when it comes to booking HDG import tons from Indian steelmakers due to the still-pending trade case.
In terms of current import tonnages, April. 26 data from the
US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance notes that for the month of March, the
US imported 211,014 mt (preliminary census data) of hot dipped
galvanized sheets and strip. This is a stark drop from March 2015, when census data indicated the
US imported 331,569 mt (census data) of hot dipped
galvanized sheets and strip.