Trading activity in the hot rolled coil (HRC) market in the UAE has remained weak, with buyers opting to secure material mostly to meet their urgent needs. “Overall, market sentiments here remain very dull and weak. With the lack of demand from end-users and abundance of stocks, everyone is waiting for a further decrease in prices,” a major regional flats distributor stated. However, according to a more widespread opinion in the market, import HRC prices are unlikely to drop further against the backdrop of higher costs for raw materials. “With coking coal prices tending to rise so rapidly lately, a downward chance for finished steel is less now,” a market source stated. “I believe prices have more or less bottomed out,” a representative of an UAE-based pipe mill said.
Meanwhile, SteelOrbis has learned of recent bookings of ex-India boron-added HRC, for a total about 20,000 mt, at $625-640/mt CFR Jebel Ali. This is almost in line with prices valid at the beginning of August, but a $10/mt drop on the low end of the range voiced by Indian suppliers in late July. Following the transactions mentioned above, some Indian HRC suppliers have started testing the market with offers at $650-660/mt CFR, though with no buying interest at these levels.