Buoyed by the continued rise in buying interest from the EU region and higher export allocations for shipments in May and beyond, Indian mills have been successful in further increasing hot rolled coil (HRC) prices well above the $1,000/mt FOB mark and even exceeding $1,100/mt FOB in the latest deals, while almost exiting their traditional Asian markets, SteelOrbis has learned from trade and industry circles.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-India HRC has surged further to $1,040-1,150/mt FOB, up by $90/mt on the lower end and $80/mt on the upper end of the range reported last week.
“Indian sellers are no longer interested in prices below the $1,000/mt FOB level that could be acceptable in the Asian region. Buyers from the EU, Turkey and Egypt are very active in the local markets, so firm deals have already touched $1,100/mt FOB. The mood is bullish as only sellers from China and India have good volumes to offer,” an official from India said.
“In good times, Russia exported about 20 million mt of steel and Ukraine about the same. This is now zilch. Prices in the EU have gone up. Our prices are also increasing on the cost-push effect, but we are still able to sell at least $100/mt lower than the local EU prices, on CFR basis,” V R Sharma, managing director of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), said.
“Indian steel exports to the EU and the MENA region used to be only 10 percent of total outward shipments. We can now almost double volume shipments to the EU and the MENA region immediately as we are competitive. India is better placed to increase supplies to these markets than China as we have our own iron ore and are less vulnerable to raw material price spikes and have a shorter supply chain distance with these emerging markets,” he said.
A western India-based mill is heard to have concluded a deal for 25,000 mt with buyers in Italy at a price of $1,100/mt FOB.
Sources said that an eastern India-based mill has reported a booking of May shipment for 15,000 mt, with buyers in Turkey at $1050-1070/mt FOB over the past week, though this has not been confirmed by the time of publication and most sources believe that new offers are above that, at a minimum of $1,100/mt FOB.
The same mill, however, also concluded another deal with a EU buyer, in Italy specifically, at a price of $1,090/mt FOB, but volume confirmation was not readily available.
The highest prices have been reported for two deals to Spain - at $1,230/mt CFR and $1,270-1,275/mt CFR, which translate to around $1,130/mt FOB and $1,170/mt FOB, though the FOB levels could be slightly lower as freight rates to southern Europe have already increased to $100/mt and could be higher depending on the cargo volumes.
An Odisha-based producer has reported two small trades of up to 10,000 mt each with buyers in Egypt and Nigeria for May shipment at $1,080/mt and $1,040/mt FOB respectively, sources said.
