GCC buyers remained active in the HRC import market this week and have increasingly shifted their focus toward ex-India material, supported by competitive pricing and more predictable supply conditions. In contrast, despite a slight softening in prices, purchasing interest in Chinese material has remained cautious, with buyers preferring smaller volumes. Ongoing uncertainty surrounding export license requirements continues to limit availability and dampen buying appetite across the region. Meanwhile, market rumors suggest potential interest from Emirati buyers in Japanese material in the coming weeks. However, sources noted that GCC buyers are reassessing price levels, as offers from most suppliers have converged, reducing the urgency to build inventories in the near term.
As a result, earlier this week, Indian suppliers sold several lots, totaling around 30,000 mt to the UAE and 15,000 mt to Oman, for January shipment, at $468-470/mt FOB and $465/mt FOB, respectively. These levels translate to approximately $490-495/mt CFR to the GCC. Indian offer prices have edged down slightly from the previous week and are now largely aligned with concluded deal levels, easing from $490-505/mt CFR to around $490-495/mt CFR for January and February shipments to the UAE.
On the other hand, Chinese suppliers have lowered their offer levels to $485-495/mt CFR for late January and February shipments, down from $490-505/mt CFR in the previous week. However, some suppliers are still maintaining higher offer indications at around $500-505/mt CFR, which have not been considered by UAE buyers at all.
Meanwhile, Japanese mills have continued to quote largely stable prices for February shipments, assessed at around $485-490/mt CFR. Although no fresh transactions have been reported, market participants indicate that buying interest from the UAE could emerge in the near term.
