Again, no new price movements have been observed in the UAE HRC market, as the majority of Emirati purchasers have continued to postpone purchases due to the unpredictable international situation and the wide range of import prices. Due to lack of trade activity, the majority of HRC suppliers have kept their offer prices stable week on week. However, some suppliers have decided not to make fresh offers and instead are focusing on other export markets or domestic markets until some movement is observed in the UAE market.
“Buyers are puzzled because of the large discrepancy in HRC prices from China versus other origins, and so the market is quite sluggish,” a representative of a major re-roller told SteelOrbis.
Over the past week, ex-China SS400 offers to the UAE have remained unchanged at $495-505/mt CFR for May shipments. However, due to low levels of interest, a few Chinese suppliers have chosen to provide discounts, with their offers varying at $485-490/mt CFR. Furthermore, offers from China for SAE1006 HRC have been heard at around $520/mt CFR UAE.
Meanwhile, HRC offers from India remain stable week on week at $540-550/mt CFR for May shipments, but these prices remain the highest in the market, not drawing much interest from Emirati customers.
On the other hand, while offers for 2 mm SAE 1006 grade from Japan to the UAE have been reported at $500-505/mt CFR, higher levels have also been reported in the market from Japan at about $530/mt CFR. However, no new offers have been received from Taiwan, which had previously offered at $525-530/mt CFR.
