Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been showing a slight downward bias in offers submitted in the Middle East, however, the decline have remained uncompetitive with other foreign suppliers. Besides, some Indian sellers attempted to push sales in Europe at lower offers but with very limited success as mills in the region were seen to be dropping prices and resulting in very low interest in import trades.
More specifically, ex-India SAE1006 HRC offers in the Middle East have been reported at $510-520/mt FOB, compared to $520/mt FOB last week, which translates to around $535-540/mt CFR UAE, but Indian sellers have been largely ignored as most trades in this region were heard at levels below the $500/mt CFR mark, clearly ‘out-competing’ ex-India offers.
However, at least two large mills were heard to be more active in submitting offers in Europe, $5-15/mt lower at $555/mt FOB. According to market insiders, talks about a deal for ex-India HRC signed at $610/mt CFR Antwerp have been circulating in the market this week, but no official confirmation has been provided by the time of publication.
As a result, ex-India SAE1006 HRC reference price has moved to $510-555/mt FOB, depending on destination, down by $5-10/mt over the past week.
“Global market is under renewed pressure from aggressive ex-China and ex-Russia offer volumes and prices. Ex-India offers have been outpriced in the Middle East by competition. At the same time, price adjustments in offers submitted in Europe are not enough to trigger interest at a time when mills in northern Europe are dropping local prices. Imports are not a priority for EU based distributors,” an affiliate of Tata Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.