Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices remained stable even as ex-India sales in Asian and Gulf regions remained stalled in the face of competitive pricing from China while revival of sales in Europe proved to be short-lived after more aggressive sales by local mills.
Sources said that ex-India HRC offers were unchanged at $560-610/mt FOB, but trade activity in Europe seen in earlier weeks slowed down as distributors shifted to local sourcing after mills adopted aggressive pricing. Besides, most European customers have been refraining from purchases from India given the safeguard quota issue.
“Sharp fall in HRC futures in China over the past week prompted buyers to wait for further declines and there were no responses to ex-India offers. Also, Japanese offers in Asian region are more competitive,” a Mumbai-based trader told SteelOrbis.
“In Europe, distributors area heard to be fully stocked while end users were preferring local mills for new bookings. Ex-India prices were on the higher side leading to no offers being converted into contracts,” another source said.
