Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been kept largely stable by local mills, with trade activity kept alive by small-volume occasional deals in the Middle East, although deal prices have been at the lowest end of the offer range.
Sources said that ex-India HRC offers have been kept unchanged at $485-510/mt FOB, but most deals were at the lowest end of this range as buyers in the Middle East were keen on restocking smaller lots ahead of the festival holidays later in the month but were strongly resisting higher prices as they had multiple sourcing options. According to the sources, an eastern India-based mill reported a trade for 5,000 mt for delivery to Qatar at $485/mt FOB, while another seller confirmed a sale for 8,000 mt with a Bahrain-based trading firm at $480/mt FOB.
Furthermore, another deal for around 25,000 mt of ex-India HRC has been signed with an UAE-based re-roller at $515/mt CFR, for March shipment, which translates to around $485-490/mt FOB. Besides, some more quantity has been sold to tube makers in the UAE at the same price, according to sources.
“Pre-holiday restocking seen from the Middle East will just about keep trade activity alive for a few more days, after which business activity in the region will slow down. But from the sellers’ point of view, deals are workable only at low prices as it is still a buyers’ market with multiple sellers active,” an official at a private mill told SteelOrbis.
“We are seeing attempts by mills in Europe to increase flat product prices. But the price increase is not sufficient to prompt distributors to look at import sourcing. Most European market participants are awaiting antidumping and safeguard investigation reports before deciding their restocking strategy. Europe will remain a challenging market, and Indian mills must be extremely competitive to drive sales there,” he added.
According to sources, indicative offers for ex-India HRC in Europe have been reported at €590/mt CFR, which translated to around $640/mt CFR and is considered “too high to be accepted given the trade measures threat”.
