Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have largely been maintained unchanged by large mills in the past week, while trade activity was just about kept alive by small-tonnage sales in the Middle East, amid reported discounts, while offers continued to be submitted to Vietnam and also Europe without any confirmation of actual deals so far.
According to sources, ex-India offers were officially kept stable at $490-510/mt FOB for end-of-April and May shipment, but actual confirmed deals were at the lower end of the range. According to sources, trade activity has been very slow during the past week, with only occasional deals reported in the market, such as a sale of 10,000 mt of HRC at $490/mt FOB for delivery to a Bahrain-based trading firm.
According to a section of market participants, at least two eastern India-based integrated mill continued to submit offers in Vietnam at $480-490/mt FOB, compared to $490/mt FOB heard a week ago, which translates to around $505-515/mt CFR. However, there was no information available on actual deals, with at least two in trade circles saying that offers were still too high and that the targeted price was below $500/mt CFR considering the weak demand and buyers in Vietnam still not looking at imports very much.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-India HRC in Europe have remained at $610/mt CFR, or around $555/mt FOB, and, even though no deals have been reported, market insiders have reported negotiations. “The EU's recently announced AD probe results found no evidence of dumping of HRC imports from India, effectively exempting them from duties, which makes Indian materials more attractive for EU buyers,” an Indian trader said.
“Most key destinations continue to remain very price-sensitive. Buyers are accepting offers in the Middle East but are willing to conclude deals only after significant adjustments. Vietnam’s market remains an opportunity for Indian sellers, but we do not hear any confirmed deals in the region so far,” an affiliate of Tata Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
“Ex-India prices will remain a challenge amid changing tariffs and in terms of trade. There are fundamental policy changes happening in most destinations with more volumes chasing fewer buyers. Indian mills hence will be conservative in fixing export allocations for the April-June quarter, to be decided over the coming weeks,” he added.