With Indian suppliers of hot rolled coil (HRC) having recently opted to focus on sales to the EU and Turkey, Emirati customers have been forced to search for alternative suppliers. The attention of re-rollers has been drawn to ex-China HRC offers, which are the most competitive globally right now.
Accordingly, SteelOrbis has learned of a few bookings. In particular, around 5,000-10,000 mt of ex-China 1.2 mm HRC were booked at $1,050/mt CFR. A cargo of 8,000-10,000 mt of ex-China of cold rolled full hard coils (CRFH) with 0.35-1.8mm thickness was traded at $995-1,000/mt CFR Dubai. Offers for 2 mm ex-China HRC, in turn, have been heard at $1,010-1,020/mt CFR, while ex-India HRC is expected to be not lower than $1,100/mt CFR, though no firm offers in the region have been heard so far.
No offers from South Korea or Japan have been heard in the region. “There is no material allocation for this region,” a representative of the major South Korea-based HRC producer stated.
The regional producer, Hadeed SABIC, is said to have closed its book of orders for May production, with sales to the Emirati market at $930-945/mt CPT in late February.