Spot market prices for
US domestic flat rolled steel products, including
US domestic hot dipped
galvanized and Galvalume coil have been trending downward in the past several weeks, which has a growing number of buyers showing reluctance when it comes to booking tons offshore.
Sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed that while Indian HDG producers have reduced their offer prices to
US buyers by $10-$15/mt, which brings the current ex-
India offer price to $615-$625/mt FOB, the lower price is not garnering much interest. “The
US spot market is pretty uncertain right now so a lot of people are stepping back from order placement until the domestic situation becomes clearer,” one source said. “Inventories are pretty good right now so no one has a desperate need to buy.”
In terms of Galvalume offers, SteelOrbis sources continue to report that futures pricing for
US import Galvalume, grade 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 from Korea and Taiwan are continue to be heard in the approximate range of $41-$43 cwt. ($904-$948/mt or $820-$860/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports. Sources also note that although “there is some activity that’s going on, a lot of people are wanting to see where the domestic market bottoms before making any offshore commitments.”