Despite the reductions in import offers, the market has been silent this week due to the coming of the Eid holiday in the UAE. According to market players, import prices are expected to continue to fall and, since end-user demand has remained poor in the local market, Emirati buyers prefer to postpone bookings until after the holiday to see how the market will evolve.
This week, fresh ex-China offers for SS400 HRC have dropped to $640-650/mt CFR UAE for June shipment, down from $650-670/mt CFR before.
Meanwhile, ex-India offers are unchanged from last week at $720-740/mt CFR, with larger mills attempting to sell at the top range of $735-740/mt CFR for June shipment. However, due to better and cheaper offerings from competitors in the market, there is still not much interest in Indian goods.
Furthermore, South Korea has maintained its prices unchanged week on week at $740/mt CFR for June-July shipments.