The rising trend of hot rolled coil (HRC) import prices in India has continued unabated with an estimated tonnage of 40,000-50,000 mt booked over the past fortnight, originating from Vietnam and Japan mainly, SteelOrbis learned from trade circles on December 13.
Sources said that, despite the recent increases in HRC prices across Asian and Southeast Asian markets, import deal prices, which have been below $600/mt CFR, have remained competitive against local trade prices, which even after recent declines were hovering at $650-657/mt ex-Mumbai.
According to the sources, a large industrial user reported a trade for up to 25,000 mt of ex-Vietnam HRC for end-of-January shipment at $580-585/mt CFR in the west.
A leading re-rolling mill based in Maharashtra reported a deal for 20,000 mt of ex-Japan HRC for early February shipment at a slightly higher price of around $600/mt CFR.
Unconfirmed reports also suggested a deal for 10,000 mt of ex-Russia HRC at a lower price of $570/mt CFR by a local trading firm, with some market participants suggesting that the deal was based on Indian rupee payment terms. However, the signing of the deal has not been confirmed and some market sources believe that, if true, it was for a trader's position rather than directly from a mill. The last tradable level for ex-Russia HRC from the mill to India was at $580/mt CFR for a larger volume of 30,000 mt at least, but no deal has been heard.
All deal prices are around $10-20/mt higher than the tradable levels and deals around two weeks ago.
“There were a lot of surplus volumes available from mills in the Asian region in the wake of the slowdown in shipments to the west. Prices are increasing, but are still more competitive than local trade prices, even after factoring in post-landing costs. South Korean mills have been quiet in submitting offers over the past week. Once they are back, import pressures can be expected to increase in the coming weeks,” a Mumbai-based distributor said.