Even though end-user demand is still unsatisfactory, GCC-based customers have continued to replenish their supplies in line with their needs, resulting in some volumes of ex-China HRC being booked to the GCC region.
As a result, SteelOrbis has learned that a deal for a certain tonnage has been done from China to the UAE this week at $585/mt CFR, while current offers from China have mostly remained unchanged at $570-585/mt CFR to the UAE for shipment at the end of October.
Furthermore, a sale of 1,500–2,000 mt of Chinese HRC was reported via a UAE trader last week to Turkey for $585/mt CFR, for shipment in October. Likewise, last week, several specific grades of HRC were sold from China to the Gulf. Accordingly, Oman importers bought 10,000 mt of thin gauge HRC at $594-595 CFR for shipment in October, while Saudi Arabia ordered around 8,000 mt of API, X42 HRC at $630 CFR, for shipment in October-November.
In contrast, market participants report that Indian and South Korean suppliers, in particular, have continued to focus more on their domestic market due to improved business activities and the acceptability of higher prices.
“We have not offered HRC to the UAE in a while, and it does not look like we will in the coming weeks either, but, if the prices become more reasonable, we will offer,” the representative of a South Korean mill told SteelOrbis.