Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have edged down over the past week to stimulate sales in the Middle East, while remaining largely stable in Europe, where deals have been limited as buyers seek to avoid multiple import-related risks. In addition, offers to Vietnamese buyers have declined by about $10/mt, with Indian sellers aiming to secure more bookings.
Sources said that ex-India HRC offers in the Gulf have been reported in the range of $490-500/mt FOB, down from levels of $500-510/mt FOB as sellers attempted to push sales leveraging the slight improvement in demand in the region, even though buyers have remained very price-sensitive.
According to sources, several deals for ex-India SAE1006 HRC in the UAE for around 22,000-25,000 mt each have been signed at $515-520/mt CFR for end-of-November shipment, which translates to around $495-500/mt FOB, while another large mill completed a supply contract for 12,000 mt for delivery to Bahrain at around $490/mt FOB.
The sources said that some sectors in the Gulf region have been showing a selective improvement in demand driven by government-backed economic initiatives prompting buyers to return to the market though they are still cautious as regards high-priced deals.
Besides, offers for ex-India SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam have been voiced at $505-510/mt CFR, or around $485-490/mt FOB, for November shipment, against $515-520/mt CFR last week.
Ex-India HRC offers in Europe have remained at $555/mt FOB, but without any response as buyers have still been sourcing competitively-priced local products and avoiding higher import risks of quota exhaustion and carbon tax issues.
Thus, the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-India SAE1006 HRC has moved to $485-555/mt FOB, down by $10/mt on the lower end of the range week on week.
“The return of buyers in the Gulf is a positive sign, but we expect prices to remain under pressure once business activity picks up after the holiday in China and more sellers become active in key destinations,” an affiliate of Tata Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
“Indian sellers will have to adopt aggressive prices to push sales overseas. It is a challenging trade-off between domestic sales and exports as a tool for inventory management,” he added.
