Indian HDG export offers fall for second straight week but fail to stimulate sales

Indian hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil exporters have reduced their offers for the second consecutive week, decreasing them by $20/mt week on week to $715/mt FOB, but this has had no significant impact in terms of boosting transaction volumes given the absence of interest from either US buyers or buyers in the Gulf markets, traders said on Thursday, June 15.
 
"Two cuts in offers over two consecutive weeks by Indian exporters are significant and rare. However, more importantly, the lack of impact of the pricing strategy shows the deeper fundamental weakness of the HDG export market," a Mumbai-based trader said.
 
"Indian HDG exporters are adjusting offers largely to maintain presence in overseas markets despite negligible margins owing to the strength of the Indian currency. But US buyers are not responding owing to uncertainties surrounding flat product prices in the US," the trader added.
 
Market sources said that the fundamental cause of the weakness of Indian HDG export volumes is lack of price competitiveness vis-à-vis Chinese shipments.
 
The sources also said that Indian exporters are nervous due to unconfirmed reports that, based on the ongoing Section 232 probe by the US Department of Commerce into imports, the Trump administration will go easy on restriction on imports from China, while pushing ahead with stronger protectionist measures against imports from other countries.