Ex-India hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil offers have remained at lower levels in the past week, but have failed to stimulate buying, as activity in Europe has slowed due to the upcoming Easter holidays and the uncertain price direction, while a widening bid-offer gap has kept Middle Eastern buyers on the sidelines, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Thursday, April 17.
Sources said that ex-India HDG (Z120) offers are reported at $680-700/mt FOB for Middle Eastern customers, while offers to the EU have been reported at higher levels - at $735/mt FOB and above, which translates to around $790/mt CFR.
According to sources, the bid-offer gap in the Middle East has exceeded $30/mt, with sellers unwilling to offer deep discounts, and so no deals were confirmed over the past week. Meanwhile, in Europe, although mills have continued trying to raise local prices, trade-level prices and demand have remained weak. Combined with uncertainties over potential shifts in trade flows due to ongoing tariff disputes across markets, this has made distributors cautious about imports.
“Indian prices are likely to move down but not as fast as others, particularly ex-China offers. So, while competition from the sales side is challenging, demand and prices on the buying side remain weak in most destinations. Indian mills do not have much leeway in terms of further aggressive pricing,” a source at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
