Japanese hot rolled coil (HRC) export prices have remained largely stable in May this year, with only a slight downward trend observed in deal prices across Asian markets. Trading activity has been subdued, as buyers in the region have remained cautious amid soft demand and price competition from other origins, and especially from China. At the same time, Japanese mills have continued to face limited access to the European market due to trade restrictions, forcing them to redirect volumes to alternative destinations.
More specifically, prices of ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC for the Asian region have settled at $490-510/mt CFR in late May, versus $500-510/mt CFR in late April. In Vietnam, offers for ex-Japan HRC have been voiced at around $500-505/mt CFR, down by $5-10/mt month on month. Although trade activity was slow to this destination in April, several deals for ex-Japan HRC are reported to have been signed at $490-495/mt CFR in the last weeks of May, down by $10/mt as compared to the deal prices in late April.
However, offers for ex-Japan HRC in Pakistan have remained relatively stable over the past month at $500-505/mt CFR in late May, but, according to sources, workable prices have been estimated at $490-495/mt CFR levels. Furthermore, ex-Japan HRC offers to Bangladesh have been reported at around $500-510/mt CFR, compared to $510/mt CFR in late April.
In the meantime, offers from Japanese suppliers to the Middle East have been voiced at $505-510/mt CFR, the same as in late April. Although trade activity has been moderate in the region, current offers from Japan are considered to be “rather competitive” compared to those from other foreign suppliers, with several deals reported to have been signed at $505/mt CFR Saudi Arabia and the UAE during the past weeks.
Japanese steel suppliers continue to stay out of the European market amid ongoing trade restrictions. In March, the European Commission imposed provisional antidumping (AD) duties on hot rolled coil (HRC) imports from Egypt, Japan, and Vietnam. These duties, which came into effect on April 7, range from 6.9 percent to 33 percent. Among Japanese producers, Nippon Steel was hit with the highest rate at 33 percent, followed by JFE Steel at 32 percent, while Tokyo Steel faced the lowest duty at 6.9 percent.
Meanwhile, India officially implemented a 12 percent safeguard duty in April on flat steel imports, including HRC, CRC, and coated steel. Although Japan has a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, the new duty was still applied to Japanese-origin materials.