Indian flat steel exporters have marginally increased their offers during the past week to offset the impact on margins owing to the appreciation of the local currency against the dollar but have been successful in concluding large-volume bookings, traders said on Monday, July 22.
“Much of the export activity has been confined to hot rolled coil (HRC) as local steel mills have been refocusing on overseas shipments in view of sluggish domestic sales and mounting inventories,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Even commercial exporters have been able to conclude bookings of significant volumes for HRC and cold rolled coils (CRC) from key markets like Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia and small-volume deals for shipment to the European Union region,” the trader added.
Ex-India HRC offers
Indian export offers for hot rolled coil (HRC) have marginally increased by $5/mt week on week to $510 /mt FOB, according to market sources, who added that both commercial exporters and local steel mills have been attempting to compensate for the Indian rupee, which is now under INR 69 to the US dollar.
Market sources said that at least two large domestic steel mills have been able to conclude export contracts for an aggregate volume of 20,000 mt with buyers in Vietnam. Reports in the market indicate that other steel mills have been able to secure bookings for an aggregate of 15,000 mt from markets in Indonesia and Malaysia.
At the same time, traders are reported to have concluded sales of 10,000 mt of HRC for shipment to neighboring markets of Nepal and Bangladesh, the sources said.
Ex-India CRC offers
Indian export offers for cold rolled coil (CRC) have increased marginally by $5/mt during the past week to $545 /mt FOB, according to market sources.
The sources said that two western India-based steel mills have reportedly concluded bookings for an estimated aggregate volume of 15,000 mt for shipment to Indonesia and Vietnam during the past week.
However, traders have largely failed to conclude any significant bookings barring nominal volumes for delivery to neighboring Bangladesh, though the estimated volume could not be verified from market sources.
Ex-India plate offers
Indian plate export offers have increased by $10/mt during the past week to $575/mt FOB, according to market sources, who added that no significant trades have been reported in the market by either traders or large domestic steel mills.