Even though Emirati re-rollers made some purchases from Japan in previous weeks, no deals have been reported this week, even though ex-China HRC offers have continued to weaken owing to the poor market situation. Meanwhile, other suppliers, particularly India, have maintained their high prices with not much interest from the GCC. On the other hand, market participants believe that UAE purchasers are still cautious since prices are fluctuating and domestic market demand is slow.
Currently, ex-China SS400 offers for June shipments are reported at $490-500/mt CFR, down from $495-505/mt last week. However, due to limited trade activity, a few suppliers have reported lower levels of $485/mt CFR. Similarly, offers from China for SAE1006 HRC have been reported at roughly $510/mt CFR UAE, a decrease from $520/mt CFR before.
Meanwhile, although in the past week, UAE re-rollers showed some interest and bought around 25,000 mt and 16,000 mt of HRC from Japan at $505/mt CFR, this week's offers remain more or less stable at $505-510/mt CFR for July shipment, with no new deals.
Likewise, offers from Indian suppliers are relatively stable at $540-550/mt CFR, but, since the prices are the highest in the market, Emirati as well as other GCC buyers are not so interested.