Ex-India hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices have been kept mainly stable, but no deals have been reported over the past week as the different destinations have lapsed into inactivity, with buyers in Europe staying away from imports in the wake of falling local prices, while Middle Eastern buyers are taking a pause amid the completion of restocking in the current cycle.
Sources said that ex-India HDG prices have remained at $825-830/mt FOB, with offers not eliciting any response as sellers are not under pressure to aggressively push sales currently, holding low export allocations with the current last quarter drawing to a close.
Buyers in the Middle East who were supporting export trades until recently have moved to the sidelines, having either completed restocking or expecting prices to decline further as lower ex-China offers are foreseen to resume after the holiday.
“Europe is tending to move in a negative zone again. Interest in imports from distributors is very low. We hear some mills in the EU region rolling back the recent price increase to push sales. The ex-India price advantage has eroded slightly as a result,” an official at a private mill said.
“However, for Indian mills the slowdown in trade is not a big concern as they have minimal export allocations available and do not need to adjust offers. To wait and watch until the start of the new fiscal year is the preferred stance,” he added.
