In the past week, ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been kept stable by large mills and trade activity at lower levels has been kept alive by small-volume deals in the Middle East although at the lower end of the price range. However, most Indian suppliers have been assessing conditions in various destinations, expecting that trade activity may improve slightly and, though pricing will remain a challenge, most suppliers are targeting higher export prices in February supported by the anticipated recovery of local HRC quotes.
Sources said that, while exporting mills have kept ex-India prices unchanged below the $500/mt FOB mark in the range of $485-495/mt FOB, actual deals have been successful only at marginally lower levels. More specifically, according to the sources, last week an eastern India-based mill concluded a deal for 5,000 mt for delivery to the UAE against an offer submitted at $490/mt FOB, but the final agreed price was at around $483/mt FOB.
Similarly, another large western India-based mill has reported a sale of 8,000 mt for delivery to Qatar at $478/mt FOB, against the initial offer submitted at $485/mt FOB. These deal prices translate to around $510-520/mt CFR, according to sources.
At the same time, market insiders have reported Indian suppliers are targeting higher prices for the next round of sales. “Ex-India HRC target prices are at $500-510/mt FOB supported by anticipated hikes in local HRC prices in India in February. However, the Middle East will continue to restock only if the price is competitive, while in Europe, even though local prices are being maintained at high levels, demand is not strong enough for distributors to look at imports. For Indian mills the pricing strategy will differ from mill to mill depending on how changing global dynamics on tariffs can be negotiated,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
“With the Lunar New Year holiday coming up, more buyers may look at ex-India offers. But exporters will need to be extremely competitive for deals to work out,” an official at a private mill said.