Despite further drops in China’s hot rolled coil (HRC) offers, GCC customers have expressed interest in Indian materials as Indian suppliers’ HRC offers have decreased and become more reasonable. As a result, Emirati and Bahraini customers have decided to purchase certain quantities in recent weeks. Meanwhile, UAE buyers note that, while the import market has recently been more active, end-user demand in the domestic market remains slow.
“Importing has seen some activity recently, but the local market is a little slow and most customers are delaying their purchases until after the New Year holiday,” a UAE trader told SteelOrbis.
According to reports, Emirati and Bahrain customers recently bought 25,000 mt and 12,000 mt of HRC from India at $540/mt and $535/mt CFR, respectively. Offers from India to the UAE have been reduced by $10/mt to $540/mt CFR for February shipment. However, some larger Indian mills are still attempting to offer higher levels to the UAE at $550/mt CFR, which is difficult given the current market situation.
Meanwhile, Chinese suppliers continue to reduce offers, but no deals have been heard yet. According to sources, Chinese suppliers have quoted HRC offers to the UAE for February shipping at $515-525/mt CFR, a decrease from $520-525/mt CFR last week.
Japanese suppliers, on the other hand, have not made any new offers, although some market players indicate they are offering previous levels of $530/mt CFR to the UAE.
