In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the market for hot rolled coil (HRC) has continued to suffer from poor end-user demand and, considering the upcoming holiday, it is probable that the market will be even quieter. Apart from these negative sentiments, Emirati buyers have preferred to take a wait-and-see stance owing to mixed sentiments among major HRC suppliers.
According to several rumors circulating in the market, some bookings have been made from India at $570-577/mt FOB, which is around $605-612/mt CFR to the GCC, but these deals have not been confirmed and appear to be older deals. Since there are now fewer trade activities and a grim outlook in the Emirates, most Indian HRC sellers have chosen to hold back from making offers until after the Eid holiday, before submitting more offers.
“We have not yet begun to offer to the UAE like other larger Indian mills since the market is not conducive to offers and we do not want to provide cheaper pricing, but after the Eid holiday depending on market conditions we may offer," a representative of a major Indian mill told SteelOrbis.
On the other hand, ex-China offers for SS400 HRC have mostly remained the same as last week at $590-600/mt CFR for shipping in July-August. While seeking to raise prices, South Korea has this week increased offers to the UAE by $5/mt to $640/mt CFR, for shipments in August.
Furthermore, according to sources, ex-Japan offers to the UAE should be at around $570-600/mt CFR, though market participants claim that Japan sold a few lots to the UAE in the past few weeks at around $550/mt CFR and is now out of the market.
