Indian flat steel export offers have decreased across the board during the past week, with both commercial exporters and large steel mills reporting a significant rise in bookings, particularly for shipments to key markets like Vietnam and Malaysia, traders said on Monday, April 22.
“A perfect combination of price cuts and a revival of demand in key markets in Southeast Asia has triggered a revival of Indian flat product exports during the past week. Steady medium-volume contracts with buyers in neighboring countries have contributed to a surge in booking volumes,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“It is of course difficult to say if the revived booking volumes will be sustained or not. The rupee weakening over the last few days and inching closer to the INR 70 to the dollar mark is a positive and would help exporters to sustain the aggressive pricing,” the trader added.
Ex-India HRC offers
Ex-Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) offers have been lowered by $15/mt during the past week to $550/mt FOB, according to market sources.
The sources said that an aggregate booking volume of 20,000 mt has been reported in the market by large steel mills for shipment to Vietnam.
At the same time, contracts with buyers in neighboring markets of Bangladesh and Nepal have also been sustained, with reports indicating an aggregate volume of around 8,000 mt booked for shipment in early May, the sources said.
Ex-India CRC offers
Ex-Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) offers have been lowered by $10/mt during the past week to $590/mt, according to market sources.
The sources said that large steel mills are reported to have concluded bookings totaling in the range of 15,000-20,000 mt for shipment to Malaysia.
In addition, commercial exporters reported having concluded contracts for an estimated total volume of 10,000 mt for shipment to Vietnam, with around 5,000 mt booked for delivery to Bangladesh, the sources said.
Ex-India plate offers
Ex-India export offer for steel plates have been cut by $10/mt week on week to $615/mt FOB, according to market sources, but no significant transaction has been reported in the market during the past week