Following a rather stable price trend in December, Japan HRC exporters have been forced to provide discounts to most foreign customers in the first half of January given the tight competition with other Asian suppliers. However, by the third week of January the market has become more positive in terms of the future price trend mainly amid the bullishness mounting in the Chinese HRC futures market, though it has not resulted in a price recovery for ex-Japan HRC so far.
Specifically, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC for the Asian region have settled at $510-525/mt CFR, down by $10-20/mt month on month. According to sources, Japanese HRC suppliers have continued to struggle to attract the attention of Vietnamese buyers, with indicative prices heard at $510/mt CFR, compared to ex-China offers at around $495/mt CFR. Meanwhile, offers for ex-Japan HRC in Pakistan have been voiced at around $520-525/mt CFR, down by $20/mt month on month, though customers’ bids are still reported at $510/mt CFR. In Bangladesh, meanwhile, Japanese suppliers have been offering at $515-525/mt CFR, with only a few buyers interested in bookings. At the same time, however, no offers for ex-Japan HRC have been voiced in India due to the safeguard duty announcement.
In the meantime, Japanese suppliers have been offering their coils at around $515/mt CFR to the Middle East, versus $530-540/mt CFR reported a month ago. According to sources, business activity has been rather limited in the region given the tight competition with Chinese and Indian sellers. However, several deals for around 20,000 mt in total are reported to have been signed at $500-510/mt CFR later in the current week, according to sources.
At the same time, Japanese suppliers have remained out of the European market due to trade restrictions. In the third week of January, indicative offers for ex-Japan HRC have been heard at €550/mt CFR southern Europe, against €560/mt CFR in late December.