Indian exporters of flat steel products have made minor adjustments to offers during the past week but neither commercial exporters nor large exporting steel mills have reported any significant transactions barring marginal volumes to neighboring markets, traders said on Monday, January 7.
“Buying interest for ex-India flat steel products has continued to be at a low ebb. Commercial exporters are hamstrung in pushing volumes overseas as they have limited ability to adopt aggressive pricing, considering that the Indian rupee has appreciated to a five-month high at INR 69.46 a dollar and is poised for a further gain,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Another issue which is affecting commercial exporters is the huge delay in getting refunds of the Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) which exporters pay and can subsequently claim back on completion of export shipments. Exporters are facing months of delays in getting refunds and this is seriously impacting their working capital requirement,” the trader added.
Ex-India hot rolled coil offers have remained unchanged during the past week at $515/mt FOB, according to market sources.
The sources said that no significant transactions have been reported in the market during the past week either by commercial exporters or large domestic steel mills.
Ex-India cold rolled coil export offers have been pruned marginally by $5/mt week on week to $540/mt FOB, according to market sources.
The sources said that the market continues to show little activity except for a few small-volume shipments to Bangladesh. They said that the aggregate transaction volume was estimated at 3,000 mt during the past week for end-of-January delivery to the neighboring country.
Ex-India plate offers
Market sources said that ex-India plate export offers have been reduced by around $10/mt to $550/mt FOB, but so significant transactions were reported during the past week.