Indian flat steel export activity has come to a near standstill during the past week with exporters unwilling to aggressively price their offers in competition with the steadily softening of ex-China offers, traders said on Monday, June 24.
“Indian exporters, particularly large producing steel mills are avoiding aggressive pricing as they are faced with rising input costs and are unwilling to sacrifice margins,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Most of the low-volume bookings have been accounted for by traders during the past week largely to maintain market presence in neighboring regions,” the trader added.
Ex-India HRC offers
Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) export offers have remained stable during the past week at $530/mt FOB, according to market sources.
However, the sources said that no significant contracts have been concluded by either traders or large producing steel mills.
Ex-India CRC offers
Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) offers have softened marginally by $5/mt week on week to $540/mt FOB, according to market sources.
According to the sources, traders have been able to conclude bookings with buyers in neighboring markets like Nepal and Bangladesh for modest volumes not exceeding a total of around 4,000 mt during the past week, with some reports suggesting that these contracts were concluded only after offers of an additional $5/mt discount to maintain a market presence in these destinations.
Ex-India plate offers
Indian steel plate export offers have remained unchanged during the past week at $575/mt FOB, according to market sources, who said that no bookings have been reported in the market.