Import hot rolled coil (HRC) offers to Egypt have followed the general market uptrend seen in the Mediterranean region. The rise has been triggered by the sizeable price increase in Turkey and limited allocation for February ex-CIS.
Current offers from Turkey to Egypt are coming at $490-495/mt CFR, having increased by around $15-20/mt since the second half of November. Mills are said to have limited volumes to offer for February production as they sold sufficient volumes to Italy previously. In addition, some of them have limited export allocation due to maintenance works, SteelOrbis understands.
Russian sellers have not yet set firm offers for February production to Egypt. However, according to sources, NLMK will be aiming at levels close to $490/mt CFR, while in the previous round the levels from Russia to Egypt were at around $435-440/mt CFR, as SteelOrbis reported earlier.
Offers from India are coming at $485-490/mt CFR from one of the key sellers. However, Egyptian buyers find the levels not workable due to the long lead time, sources report.