Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been maintained by sellers at relatively stable levels as compared to last week and, consequently, the current prices have still failed to evoke any buying interest amid the mounting negative mood in most destinations and with deals being deferred as further declines are expected.
More specifically, ex-India HRC prices have been voiced at $580-650/mt FOB, the same as last week. Offers in Vietnam have been estimated at around $605/mt CFR or around $580-585/mt FOB, though, according to sources, Vietnamese buyers’ prices idea are below $575/mt FOB. Meanwhile, customers in the Middle East have reported most ex-India HRC offers at $615-635/mt CFR, depending on the suppliers, against $620-635/mt CFR last week, while most bids have remined at around $600/mt CFR. According to sources, no significant deals have been reported in the Middle East as buyers did not feel the price reductions were sufficient, since the overall market is expected to seek a new bottom as indicated by the sharper cuts in ex-China prices.
At the same time, the EU, which has been supporting Indian exports in recent months, has fallen completely silent since local mills were rolling back prices and distributors were not interested in imports. Offers for ex-India HRC in Europe have remained at around $700/mt CFR and slightly below, which corresponds to $650/mt FOB.
“Indian export activity has gone missing now. Key markets like the Middle East and Vietnam are seeing strong discounted sales by local players. Indian mills have been dropping prices too, but the mood is too negative for the pricing to attract buyers,” a source at Tata Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
“Our assessment is that a bottom is still some distance away as the global slowdown and higher supplies will continue. Indian mills must take this new reality into consideration and reflect it when deciding export allocations for the first quarter of the next fiscal year. Domestic sales and stock liquidation will remain the focus of mills during the next few weeks of the current fiscal year,” another source said.
