Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) exporters have made slight price adjustments to stimulate sales in the Middle East, with moderate success, while offers to Asia and Europe have remained stable. Trade in the EU has been largely on hold due to holidays and year-end considerations.
Sources said that ex-India HRC prices have settled in the range of $465-470/mt FOB in the Middle East, slightly lower than $470-480/mt FOB a week ago. In particular, ex-India HRC prices have settled at $490-495/mt CFR, down by $495-500/mt CFR from last week.
According to the sources, the adjustments have been prompted by weakening demand seen in the region and buyers assessing the impact on supplies following the announcement of export licensing norms in China. Though ‘normatively’ the export licensing in China would imply tighter supplies, Indian sellers are taking a contrarian outlook that any tightening of supplies would be offset by aggressive sales by alternative producing countries, which would be hard to match.
The sources said that among the limited trades reported during the week was a contract for delivery of 15,000 mt to Oman by an eastern India-based mill at $465/mt FOB, though this deal has not been confirmed by the time of publication. Similarly, another trade has been concluded for 30,000 mt to the UAE at $468-470/mt FOB, which translates to around $485/mt CFR UAE.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-India HRC in Vietnam have been voiced at $475-480/mt CFR, compared to $478-483/mt CFR last week.
Indicative offers from India in Europe have remained at $520-525/mt FOB, mainly the same as last week.
As a result, although offers to the Middle East have declined, the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-India SAE1006 HRC has remained at $455-520/mt FOB, given that the lower end of the range corresponds to offers in Vietnam, while the higher end corresponds to offers in Europe.
“The export market will ease off in the coming days for holidays and the year-end. The price adjustments seen over the past few days are only temporary and very deal-specific. Both buyers and sellers will wait for a new trend to emerge in key destinations in the New Year. There will be more clarity on the impact of the recent export regulations in China,” a source at Tata Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.