Despite the slowdown in local business, Emirati re-rollers in need of stocks bought some quantities of HRC from Japanese suppliers at the end of last week. Although some trade activity had been noticed by Emirati purchasers last week, low demand has persisted, causing import prices, particularly from Japan and China, to indicate further slight declines. Furthermore, with the upcoming holiday, most local market players think that the domestic market will slow down even further during the month of May.
According to market sources, Japan recently sold 15,000-20,000 mt of HRC to the UAE at $495/mt CFR. In the meantime, current ex-Japan offers for July shipments have dropped by $10/mt to $495-500/mt CFR to the UAE.
Quotations for Chinese SS400 HRC vary at $490-495/mt CFR for shipments in June, while last week's levels stood at $490-500/mt CFR. Nonetheless, Emirati re-rollers report that select Chinese suppliers continue to provide HRC discounts to about $480-485/mt CFR.
Indian suppliers, meanwhile, are still offering at $540-550/mt CFR, stable week on week, though Emirati purchasers are still not interested since the prices are substantially higher compared to those of other suppliers.