Following quite a long absence of activity in the region, Indian suppliers of hot rolled coil (HRC) appear to have decided to compete for customers in the UAE lately. In particular, most of them have reduced their HRC offers to the region from $1,020-1,025/mt CFR to $1,015-1,025/mt CFR, with some of them having accepted even lower prices during negotiations to secure orders. According to sources, around 15,000-20,000 mt of ex-India HRC have been booked to the UAE at $980-990/mt CFR. “It seems that even lower numbers will be acceptable in the coming days. I am afraid we will see levels of around $960/mt CFR,” an official at an Indian steel mill stated. “The Indians are facing competition from Chinese suppliers,” a market source commented. Emirati customers, in their turn, are convinced that suppliers may be flexible during Ramadan when trading is traditionally muted.
Meanwhile, ex-China SAE1006 HRC prices have declined by $20/mt over the past week to $940-960/mt CFR in the UAE, with some customers voicing their expectations at $850/mt CFR levels for the coming bookings. Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) in the UAE is available at $980-990/mt CFR, while it is possible to book Z275 hot dip galvanized coil (HDG) with 1 mm thickness at $1,100-1,120/mt CFR. Ex-India HDG with the same specification is heard to be available at levels $30-100/mt higher than ex-China material.
In the meantime, the regional flats supplier, Hadeed, has not declared its fresh HRC offers for July production yet, while its HRC for June production has been available at $1,200/mt CPT GCC.