While some hot rolled coils (HRC) markets reflected slight price gains this week, demand across key destinations has remained too weak to support a sustained uptrend. Specifically, ex-China HRC prices have posted a mild rebound, though sentiment has remained cautious, and no clear upward trend has emerged. Exporters continued to offer discounts in order to secure bookings, which allowed some transactions to go through in Vietnam and the Gulf region despite limited appetite. In Vietnam, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel has followed another producer Hoa Phat with a modest increase in domestic HRC offers. Meanwhile, the Indian export market has been quieter, with trade largely stalled as the bid-offer gap persisted, while prices have stayed mostly stable over the past week, with some offers showing a slight upward trend. In the Middle East, although Chinese prices have started to rebound slightly, UAE buyers have managed to close occasional deals with additional discounts. The Turkish market has remained subdued, with slow trading activity and prices holding largely stable. In Europe, a notable gap has persisted between mill target prices and workable market levels, while import offers have edged higher despite weak trading conditions.
Ex-China HRC offers have edged up over the past week, reflecting a mild recovery rather than a clear upward trend. Mills have slightly increased their prices for boron-added SS400 HRC by $7.5/mt week on week to $480-490/mt FOB for November shipment. Traders’ prices have shown only a slight upward bias in several offers, while others have maintained their prices unchanged since last week. In particular, most offers have been voiced at $475-478/mt FOB, with a deal for around 30,000 mt of ex-China Q235 HRC reportedly signed in Vietnam at $491/mt CFR. However, a deal for around 30,000 mt of ex-China coils has been still reported with additional discounts - at around $470/mt FOB or $500/mt CFR UAE, while most offers for Chinese SS400 HRC have settled at $510-515/mt CFR UAE this week. As of September 12, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,365/mt ($474/mt), increasing by RMB 24/mt ($3.3/mt) or 1.28 percent since September 5, while up 0.66 percent compared to the previous trading day, September 11.
Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS) has raised its local HRC prices in Vietnam by $11-12/mt from August to $519-528/mt CIF, depending on order size, following a similar move by Hoa Phat last week. The producer, however, has kept the increase modest amid growing competition from other Asian suppliers, from Japanese, Indonesian and Malaysian SAE-grade HRC in particular, amid a slowdown in Chinese shipments due to antidumping duty.
As for the import market in Vietnam, following a deal for 20,000 mt of ex-China Q235 HRC 2,000 mm, which is not subject to antidumping duty, at $492/mt CFR last week, this week another deal for 30,000 mt has been signed at $491/mt CFR Vietnam for November shipment, while most offers have settled at $493-500/mt CFR, depending on the supplier, up by $4/mt on the higher end of the range since the end of last week. Meanwhile, ex-Malaysia SAE1006 HRC 3,000 mm offers have been reported at $508/mt CFR, for December shipment, compared to $500-505/mt CFR at the beginning of this week. Offers for ex-Indonesia SAE1006 HRC 3,000 mm have settled at $505-510/mt CFR, for November shipment, up by $10/mt since the beginning of the week. Besides, talks about a deal for a sizable ex-Indonesia HRC lot signed at $505/mt CFR have been circulating in the market this week. Suppliers from Japan have increased their offers for SAE1006 HRC 1,2000 mm by $10/mt as well to $525-530/mt CFR, for November-December shipments. Thus, the SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $505-507/mt CFR level from $500-505/mt CFR last week amid higher offers from all main suppliers.
Ex-India HRC prices have remained largely stable over the past week, with some offers indicating a mild upward trend. However, limited demand in key export destinations continues to weigh on sales. At the same time, intensified competition in the Gulf region has pushed bid levels lower, while the ongoing bid-offer mismatch has effectively stalled new transactions. More specifically, ex-India HRC offers in the Middle East have been reported at $505-515/mt FOB, the same as last week. According to sources, most ex-India HRC offers have been estimated at $535-540/mt CFR UAE, the same as last week, though some traders reported higher prices at $550-565/mt CFR UAE, which are considered “totally uncompetitive” given that offers from Chinese suppliers have been voiced at $510/mt CFR. Meanwhile ex-India HRC offers in Europe have been voiced at $600-610/mt CFR, up by $5/mt on the higher end of the range week on week, which translates to around $550-555/mt FOB, up by $5/mt week on week. Furthermore, according to market insiders, following an offer from one of the Indian steelmakers at $515/mt CFR Vietnam this week, a deal for around 30,000 mt has been reportedly signed at $507/mt CFR, for November shipment. But this information has not been officially confirmed.
In the UAE, the hot rolled coil (HRC) market has shown mixed signals this week, as offer trends and buying activity diverged across sources. Chinese suppliers, supported by firm futures prices, have slightly increased their offers for SS400 to $510-520/mt CFR, up from $500-515/mt CFR last week. Despite the upward movement, some Emirati buyers looking to restock but still aiming for lower purchasing levels have managed to finalize deals, with a deal for SS400 reported at $510/mt CFR for November shipment. Additionally, around 20,000-30,000 mt of SAE1006 has been booked at $500/mt CFR, also for November shipment. Meanwhile, some UAE re-rollers have turned to regional alternatives, reportedly booking Saudi-origin HRC at $550/mt CFR for October shipment. Indian suppliers have kept their offers mostly stable at $530-540/mt CFR, although some higher price indications at $540-550/mt CFR have been heard in the market. These elevated levels, however, have not drawn buying interest, as most importers remain price sensitive in the current environment. Moreover, South Korean mills have opted not to issue fresh offers this week, citing limited demand and increasing pressure from buyers for lower prices. Japanese suppliers have held their offers at $515-520/mt CFR, though no deals have been concluded so far, despite some reported market interest.
In Turkey, the local HRC prices have remained stable for the fourth week in a row at $555-565/mt ex-works base officially with some of the offers reaching $570/mt ex-works but not considered workable. The discounts of around $5/mt are applicable but the trade is mainly moderate these days, with the demand not allowing prices to increase much. Traders’ HRS prices are at $590-610/mt ex-warehouse, sources report. Some hopes exist for the EU side, which is gradually coming back from the holidays and, in case there are good sales from Turkey for the next quota round, those might support the domestic prices as well. Currently, Turkey is at $535-545/mt FOB officially for export.
Import offers from China have been mainly hovering around $513-515/mt CFR this week for the regular cargoes and for end of October and November shipments. Bids are rare and are not exceeding $500-503/mt CFR, SteelOrbis understands. Japan and Taiwan are at $520-525/mt CFR, slightly down over the week, while Malaysia is at $540/mt CFR in offers versus $530/mt CFR levels as a buyers’ price idea. Russian mills have been mainly collecting the bids this week with the indicative prices reported at $485-495/mt CFR for the sanctioned material and $520-525/mt CFR for the non-sanctioned one, both for November shipments.
The European HRC market has remained largely stable this week, with domestic prices in both northern Europe and Italy holding steady. Mills have continued to target levels at least €30/mt above what buyers considered workable, highlighting the gap between offers and achievable transactions. Specifically, local mills in northern Europe are reported to be targeting €600-630/mt ex-works for new orders for October and November deliveries, mainly the same as last week. However, the tradable price level has remained at €570-580/mt ex-works level. In Italy, mills have been targeting €570–580/mt ex-works for October-delivery HRC, unchanged from last week, but workable levels are estimated closer to €540/mt ex-works, with some sources also citing offers at around €550/mt ex-works. Meanwhile, in the import segment, trading activity has been weighed down by ongoing concerns over Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and quota limitations, although indicative prices have edged up by around €10/mt week on week to €485–540/mt CFR, depending on origin. The lower end the of the range corresponds to deal price for around 25,000 mt of ex-Indonesia HRC reportedly signed at €485/mt CFR Italy with guarantee of delivery in 2025, though most ex-Indonesia HRC offers in southern Europe have been voiced at €490/mt CFR level. Meanwhile the higher end of the range corresponds to offers for ex-Turkey HRC at €520-540/mt CFR, duty included, up by €10/mt week on week.