Following aggressive pricing by Chinese sellers, Emirati buyers of hot rolled coil (HRC) have stepped up their efforts to search for lower prices from India-based HRC suppliers as well. However, with the latter enjoying solid demand locally, the attempts of Emirati customers have failed to yield any results.
Accordingly, with the appearance of lower-priced offers from Chinese traders in the Emirati market at $840-890/mt CFR, UAE-based customers became quite aggressive in voicing bids for ex-India material. In particular, some buyers were seeking to buy ex-India HRC at $850-870/mt CFR. Although Emirati customers have failed to see prices at those levels, around 60,000 mt of ex-India HRC was booked lately. “Taking into account that Chinese traders are in the market with shipments for the end of January to the middle of February, ex-India HRC is still privileged. In a falling market, no one is ready to take this long shot,” an official at India-based mill commented. The abovementioned volume was booked at $880-890/mt CFR, with freight assessed at $60/mt, according to sources.