Even though the Eid holiday is over and the market has begun to show some movement in terms of import HRC offers, the holiday mood has persisted among Emirati buyers and trade has remained silent. Market participants predict that the market will return to normal next week and so some exporters who are aware of the current sentiments in the UAE have not submitted any new offers. However, Chinese and Indian suppliers have remained active in terms of giving offers. While India's offers have been stable since last week, the lower Chinese offers from non-VAT traders have been removed from the market due to news of tightened tax regulations.
As a result, ex-China offers to the UAE for SS400 HRC have risen somewhat from last week, to $505/mt CFR, up from $495-505/mt CFR, for May shipment. In the meantime, some Chinese suppliers have begun to offer at the higher level of $510/mt CFR, but these are not yet workable.
On the other hand, Indian suppliers have kept prices stable week on week at $520-530/mt CFR, for shipment at the end of April and in early May.
Furthermore, due to the ongoing holiday mood in the UAE, no fresh offers have been received from Japanese and Taiwanese suppliers, whose earlier offers to the UAE were at $520/mt CFR and $525-530/mt CFR, respectively.