Ex-China import offers to India have remained stable during the past week with the bulk of transactions reported by end-users, while traders have been restricted to low-volume contracts, traders said on Wednesday, February 6.
“Indian traders were already holding sufficient stocks and so have been cautious about concluding large-volume transactions in order to prevent funds getting locked up with the financial year coming to a close next month,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“However, end-users were observed to be continuing to conclude inward shipments. The relative stability of the exchange rate of the Indian currency has also been supporting end-users’ import strategy to maintain stocks,” the trader added.
Nevertheless, a section of the market has maintained that import activity is expected to slacken over considerations that very few Chinese traders have been active over the past few days owing to the holiday and importers will not conclude transactions for large volumes owing to end-year considerations.
Ex-China hot rolled coil (HRC) offers to India have remained stable during the past week at $495/mt CFR Mumbai, according to market sources.
However, sources said that a number of transactions has been reported for ex-South Korea HRC generally at a premium in the range of $20-30/mt on CFR basis and the total aggregate volume estimated by the market was pegged at around 4,000 mt, for March delivery.
According to market sources, ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) offers have also moved sideways during the past week at $525/mt CFR Mumbai.
Market estimated that about 3,000 mt of CRC has been bought from China, largely by Indian end-users among consumer durable manufacturers, while Indian exporters have largely been absent from the import market, the sources added.
Ex-China plate offers to India
Ex-China steel plate offers have remained unchanged week on week at $570/mt CFR Mumbai, but no significant transactions have been reported in the market, according to market sources.