With the approach of Ramadan, weak flat steel demand has caused import prices to soften in the UAE. Import hot rolled coil (HRC) offers to the UAE have decreased by $15-30/mt as compared to last week, while import plate offers have also moved down by $20-30/mt over the same period. On the other hand, domestic flat steel prices are unchanged in the UAE, though local buyers are expecting a price softening of around $20/mt in the coming days. However, until the fluctuations in flat steel prices come to an end, buyers in the UAE will maintain their wait-and-see stance.
In the UAE domestic market, hot rolled coils (HRC) are offered at $680-700/mt, while cold rolled coil prices are at $800-820/mt and hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices are standing at $880-900/mt, all for deliveries to customer in late July for advanced payments.
On the other hand, HRC import offers to the UAE are standing at $640-650/mt CFR Dubai, while plate import offers are at $680-690/mt CFR Dubai, both for late July shipments.