India-based suppliers of hot rolled coil (HRC) have remained bullish in their offers to the UAE, even though the demand regionally is far from satisfactory. Specifically, having secured orders in relatively new markets like Latin America, India-based sellers have preferred not to lower prices in offers to the UAE. Moreover, some of them have attempted to increase prices to some extent.
Accordingly, current ex-India SAE 1006 HRC offers have been heard at $990-1,015/mt CFR compared to $990-1,000/mt CFR voiced at the beginning of August. “There is not much activity as of now. Everyone is full of orders for shipments at the end of September and October bookings have not yet been started,” a major India-based HRC exporter stated. “The market is very slow here now. Prices are not the issue. There is no demand at the moment,” an Emirati flats supplier commented. In early August, ex-India HRC was traded at $950-980/mt CFR, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. In the meantime, cold rolled coil (CRC) from India is said to be available at $1,070/mt CFR, while prices for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils are standing at $1,250-1,275/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, ex-China HRC and CRC are available at $1,020-1,040/mt CFR and $1,060-1,080/mt CFR respectively, but have remained mostly unattractive due to the customs issues. HDG from China is quoted at $1,200-1,250/mt CFR, according to market sources.