Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been kept stable at higher levels, but trade activities have been limited to smaller tonnages as sellers are “increasingly becoming selective” amid the robust demand in the EU and the very limited export allocations available, and so they are reluctant of accept bids at lower prices, SteelOrbis has learned from trade and industry circles.
Ex-India SAE1006 2 mm HRC prices have remained in the range of $700-750/mt FOB and, while bids at the lower end of the range have been largely rejected, only small volumes are traded at around $720-730/mt FOB. There has been a lack of available volumes, with most sellers not wanting to confirm deals at low levels.
Officials at at least two private mills confirmed that their order books were full and that incremental volumes would be available only from mid-April onwards for May-June shipments, by when price targets are expected to be revised to around $780-790/mt FOB.
Trade circles said that an eastern Indian mill confirmed a trade for 5,000 mt to Egypt at $733/mt FOB or April shipment.
Some rare offers from some Indian mills to the UAE have been heard at $750/mt CFR, translating to $715-720/mt FOB, versus previous deals at $720-725/mt CFR and offers at $730/mt CFR. “Mills are not interested in sales at lower prices, so they just voiced this offer as an indication,” a source said.
At least two traders said that they heard two large bids for above 40,000 mt from two EU-based buyers had fallen through as local mills were unable to commit to early April shipments of such large volumes. Previous offers from India to the EU were at a minimum of $810-820/mt CFR, translating to around $750/mt FOB.
Offers to Turkey have been at $780-790/mt CFR, which corresponds to $750/mt FOB as well or so.
In Vietnam, Indian prices have also been reported at a higher level, at $735/mt CFR or just slightly below, which is around $715-720/mt on FOB basis.
“There has been very limited activity on the export front over the past week despite demand from the EU continuing to be strong. Of course, some buyers are deferring deals expecting lower ex-China prices. But overall, it has remained a sellers’ market and expectations of higher achievable target prices led some sellers to not confirm bookings. It is also possible that bid volumes were not readily available,” a source at an Indian mill said.
“We are likely to see the emergence of Egypt and Nigeria as strong buyers in the HRC market once sellers accumulate exportable volumes over the next few weeks. Several local mills are looking at expanding their marketing channels in the African market,” a source said.
