Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) have been maintained at relatively unchanged levels, with only stray deals reported in Europe, while trade to other regions has remained in a lull due to tight competition with Chinese suppliers. In the meantime, some Indian sellers are still optimistic that they will achieve better prices in the region in the New Year.
Specifically, ex-India HRC prices have been maintained at $620-660/mt FOB, the same as last week. At the same time, the lower end of the range has remained rather indicative, in Asia and the Middle East in particular, with no deals reported at this level, while the higher end of the range corresponds to ex-India offers in Europe. According to sources, ex-India HRC prices have been quoted in the range of $700-720/mt CFR or $650-670/mt FOB, but only small-volume deals were concluded at the lower end of the range as distributors in Europe were unwilling to make large commitments ahead of the holidays. More specifically, a deal for around 8,000 mt has been reported at $700/mt CFR for delivery to Antwerp, which translates to around $650/mt FOB, slightly lower than a similar deal by the same seller at $705/mt CFR a week ago.
Another Indian seller has reported a trade for around 12,000 mt at $705/mt CFR, or $655/mt FOB, for delivery to a buyer in Italy. Furthermore, several small deals for ex-India HRC have been reported in Europe at $740/mt CFR, but for higher grade HRC, according to sources.
“The pre-holiday lull is setting in for the export trade. But the mood is still optimistic as mills in Europe have almost completed local price hikes. Distributors are cautious but can be expected to show higher import interest next month. Hence, Indian mills are not aggressive in adjusting prices now to push sales,” a source at Tata Steel told SteelOrbis, adding, “At the same time, we do not expect aggregate export volumes to improve in the medium term, at least not until we see improvement in the Asian region, considering that no exports have been successful in Vietnam for the past four consecutive months.”
