Hot rolled coil (HRC) importers in Egypt have decided to restock as prices have moved down to acceptable levels. As a result, sufficient lots of various origins were booked.
An Egyptian re-roller has booked 10,000 mt of HRC from Russia at $385/mt CFR, while around two weeks ago the indicative offer level was at least $35/mt higher. In addition, according to sources, a total of 15,000 mt of ex-France HRC was sold early this week to Egypt at $400/mt CFR effective, versus $430/mt CFR traded in late March. Some volumes were also booked from Turkey since last week some Turkish mills considered it possible to decrease offers to $395/mt FOB. According to market information, some sizable lots have been agreed on at $410/mt CFR or slightly below. This week, Turkish mills are back to $410-420/mt FOB in offers, being almost sold out for May and supported by a sharp rebound in scrap prices.
