Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been dropped for Europe in line with broader global trends, but have remained stable for the Middle East and Southeast Asian regions, though only stray deals for very small volumes have been confirmed in the market.
Sources said that ex-India HRC prices have settled at $540-550/mt FOB, against $540-560/mt FOB at the beginning of last week and mainly unchanged compared to Friday, September 13. At the same time, according to sources, a number of offers at lower levels, at $530-540/mt FOB in particular, have already been heard in Europe this week, following deals signed for 20,000 mt at $600-610/mt CFR or around $545-550/mt FOB last week.
In the meantime, talk about negotiations for new deals in the UAE has been circulating in the market this week, though most market insiders emphasize that deal prices should be at $500/mt FOB or even lower to compete with Chinese suppliers.
“Exports have emerged as a major challenge for Indian mills. Most are not allocating for overseas sales in the current and next quarters. Improvements are seen in the futures market in China, which can lead to some revival in global trade. But the question remains whether the rebound will be strong enough to positively impact Indian mills as the difference between workable prices in key destinations and those acceptable to a local seller is still too big,” a source at Tata Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
“We cannot entirely follow the trend of HRC futures prices in China, as they [futures prices] have a certain degree of volatility. Only a fundamental demand revival in Asia and Europe can drive a revival, which we do not see on the immediate horizon,” another source said.
