Ex-India hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coil prices strengthened and even though number of trades were limited by low export allocation, few high-volume deals on restocking in Europe ahead of holidays held out optimism over the New Year.
Sources said that ex-India HDG prices were nudged up to range of $830-870/mt FOB, compared to $825-855/mt FOB last week, with the higher end of the range reflecting increased deal prices in Europe, though only very few Indian mills had exportable volumes to seize the opportunity to conclude deals.
According to sources, integrated mills reported a trade for 20,000 mt at $920-925/mt CFR for Europe delivery while another eastern based mill reported a trade for around 25,000 mt also for Europe delivery at $920/mt CFR, which translates to around $870/mt FOB.
“Distributors in Europe are restocking ahead of holidays. But number of trades are minimal even though few deals that we have heard are of high volumes at higher prices. Going forward export activity will halt for the holidays,” sources in Tata Steel told SteelOrbis.
“The price realizations that we hear now are good and positive for next year when local mills will have higher export allocations for the last quarter. At the same time, there are risks related to the security situation in the Red Sea region, maritime route for exports from India to Europe. Rising freight and insurance costs can threaten exports. We hope global powers will collaborate to keep the trade route safe and risk free without disruptions to supply chain,” another source said.
