Ex-Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) prices were largely maintained amid near silent trading conditions attributed to unpredictable and conflicting global trends and sellers refraining from taking a call on adjusting offers.
Ex-India SAE1006 HRC price was maintained at $580-600/mt FOB but both buyers and sellers refrained from committing bookings as current market trends are “conflicting and unpredictable”. Among the unpredictable cues was hardening of ex-China price which a section of the market attributed to “speculative” while demand and price was seen to be softening in Europe and the Gulf regions.
At least two trading sources said that two Indian mills were heard to have submitted offers on the higher side at $600/mt FOB but both were withdrawn, while no agreement could be reached between a seller and EU-based buyers. European market “has been challenging” as local mills were heard to be dropping prices and acceptance of higher import price has been impossible as buyers keep seeking $20-30/mt discounts on offers submitted.
Indicative offers for ex-India HRC in the Middle East, the UAE in particular, have been reported at $615-630/mt CFR, depending on the supplier, which corresponds to around $580-595/mt FOB. Meanwhile, HRC customers in Turkey have reported an offer from one of the Indian mills at $630/mt CFR, same as last week, which remained unworkable given cheaper offers from other suppliers, including China, Japan and South Korea.
“The conflicting signals in export markets globally is finding a new equilibrium. Both sellers and buyers are waiting for a new direction,” an official with JSW Steel said.
“We are going through a quiet phase in overseas sales. But we are maintaining a medium-term positive outlook. We maintain that our target of 13-15 percent growth in export sales for current fiscal year,” he added.