Ex-India hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices have been kept stable over the past week and, even though trade activity has fallen silent, sellers have been actively submitting offers to the Middle East and expect the ongoing price negotiations to lead to deals being confirmed over the next few weeks, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Thursday, November 13.
Sources said that ex-India HDG (Grade Z120) offers have been maintained in the range of $680-700/mt FOB, with sellers aggressively pushing multiple offers in the Gulf region, reflecting improved interest from buyers.
Even though no deals have been confirmed over the past week resulting in overall silent trade activity, the sources said that several large mills are heard to be chasing multiple buyers and ongoing negotiations and decisions on the level of discounting and workable prices could be firmed up over the next week, leading to confirmed sales contracts.
“There are definitely more buyers in the Middle East looking at ex-India offers. But considering that the market is still very price-sensitive, negotiations are being prolonged on issues of discounts and final contract prices. Hence, actual trades, as far as Indian sellers are concerned, are on pause,” a source at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
Ongoing talks will lead to deals soon. But in our assessment the workable prices will be in the range of $650-660/mt FOB for any successful contract,” he added.
