There were some decent volumes of ex-China and ex-India HRC booked to the GCC region earlier in the week as GCC-based clients continued to restock in accordance with demand. While purchasers, notably in the UAE, remain hesitant to replenish stocks due to the current unsatisfactory circumstances in both domestic and export markets, certain buyers who need material have continued to restock, favoring Chinese and Indian material.
“Nothing much is happening on the orders front in the domestic market. Customers are delaying bookings and only smaller quantities are being transacted. Similarly, we are not able to book export orders due to the uncertainties regarding shipping. Shipping lines are asking for higher freight towards Europe, the US and Canada due to the Suez Canal issues,” a major re-roller commented to SteelOrbis.
According to reports, China has sold around 45,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC to the GCC at $600-605/mt CFR via non-VAT traders, and another batch of SS400/Q195 HRC was ordered at roughly $590/mt CFR to the UAE. While the majority of offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC are reported to have decreased by $10-20/mt to $620/mt CFR or less, offers for SS400 have remained stable at $600-620/mt CFR for shipping in February.
On the other hand, Indian suppliers have sold around 20,000 mt to several GCC destinations for $630/mt CFR, and another deal for the UAE has been reported for around the same tonnage at $630/mt CFR, both for shipment in late January. However, these purchases have not been verified by the time of publication. Even though certain purchases have been reported this week at $625-635/mt CFR, mills are attempting to push offers to $635-640/mt CFR, according to sources.
In the meantime, South Korean suppliers are still withholding their offers, instead focusing on local or alternative markets where they can attain higher levels.
