Ex-India hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices have remained stable over the past week amid silent trade conditions with buyers in Europe on the sidelines owing to the lack of pricing clarity as the carbon tax kicks in, and given the low bids received from the Middle East.
Ex-India HDG offers have settled in the range of $670-700/mt FOB, but no trades have been reported after bids received from the Middle East were reported at around $640/mt FOB, with sellers unwilling to adjust offers to push sales and sacrifice margins during the year-end.
At the same time, sources said that pricing uncertainties over the carbon tax along with the winter holidays until January 7 forced sellers to pause submitting offers to Europe.
“Low business activity during the year-end kept trades silent. At the same time, for sellers fixing a price is a big challenge in view of the carbon tax becoming effective in Europe. A seller does not have clarity on how much price needs to be cut for a buyer to be able to pay the carbon levy without impacting the viability of the import,” a source at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
“We expect large Indian mills to keep export allocations minimal during the last quarter. Both buyers are sellers will have to make fresh viability assessments of imports and this will take time,” another source added.
