While offers for ex-India cold rolled coil (CRC) have been reported at slightly lower levels in new offers in Europe, ex-India hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils have been maintained unchanged by local mills, with no deals reported so far as demand has remained weak in the EU and the Gulf region, with buyers lacking confidence to conclude bookings at the current levels.
Specifically, ex-India CRC prices have dropped by around $5-15/mt week on week, falling to $685-695/mt FOB in the latest offers to southern Europe. In particular, ex-India CRC have been voiced at around $735-745/mt CFR southern Europe, versus $750/mt CFR last week. At the same time, apart from offers to Europe, customers from the Middle East have reported several offers for ex-India CRC at $680-690/mt CFR, which translates to around $620-630/mt FOB.
Meanwhile, ex-India HDG prices have been maintained in the range of $790-820/mt FOB, with sellers’ expectations of some demand recovery in Europe having failed to come true, while most offers for ex-India HDG have been heard at around $800/mt FOB in southern Europe. At the same time, the demand situation in the Gulf region has remained unchanged as well. But Indian mills have reported that offers submitted received bids at a discount and hence deals did not work out.
“Indian sellers have been banking on a demand and price rebound in Europe. But this seems to have been delayed by the fall in flat product prices in Italy. Both buyers and sellers are holding back deals to assess whether this will have a bearish impact in other regions in Europe,” a source at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
“The positive is that ex-China sellers have stopped dropping prices, which should enable a faster recovery in key overseas markets. Indian sellers will need to be patient,” he added.