United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based hot rolled coil buyers have managed to insist on discounts on the import side, though sellers remain bullish amid overall limited product availability in the region.
India has managed to sell sizeable HRC lots to the UAE. However, the sellers were not able to close deals at the initially announced prices. As a result, one Indian mill sold 18,000-20,000 mt at $535/mt CFR, $5-10/mt below the offer level. The new indication is $540-550/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned. “We receive bids from UAE customers at $530/mt CFR. However, these days we are not keen to export at such low prices taking into account demand in the local market,” an Indian source commented.
The latest deals for Japanese HRC have been closed this week at $530-540/mt CFR UAE for 30,000-35,000 mt, SteelOrbis has learned. The new offers are at $550/mt CFR, sources say.
Ukraine-based Metinvest’s HRC offers to the UAE are at $530-535/mt CFR, with no sales reported recently. The supplier lastly sold medium lots at $520/mt CFR around two weeks ago.
Saudi Arabia’s Hadeed is currently out of the market with offers to the UAE. Buyers expect its new prices to be announced within next week. The estimated level is $550/mt CPT minimum, SteelOrbis understands.