Considering the steady improvement in trade in the UAE's domestic HRC market, imports have remained lively throughout the past week, particularly for Indian and Chinese materials. Meanwhile, offers from ex-India have not changed, Chinese suppliers, especially non-VAT traders, have had an impact on mills' offers, causing them to decline this week.
UAE purchasers have bought around 8,000 mt of SS400 at $588/mt CFR, while current offers from Chinese suppliers have dropped by $10-20/mt to $590-600/mt CFR to the UAE. While SAE1006 offers have remained at $620/mt CFR, a few modest deals have been done to the UAE at $615/mt CFR for late February deliveries.
Furthermore, according to reports, a UAE-based re-roller purchased around 8,000 mt of cold rolled full hard steel (CRFH) from China lately at $620/mt CFR.
India, on the other hand, has kept its offers at $625-635/mt CFR for February shipment, while lately doing deals at these levels, though Indian mills' fresh offers for March shipment have been heard at $640-645/mt CFR. Accordingly, the UAE has purchased 8,000-10,000 mt of Indian HRC at $630–635/mt CFR during the past week. Furthermore, a deal from India to Bahrain has been heard for 20,000 mt at around $605/mt FOB, which translates to $635/mt CFR, but has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
South Korean suppliers still remain absent from the GCC market due to unsatisfactory interest from buyers and the low levels of export offers to the GCC.
