Over the past week, Indian exporters’ hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil offers have remained stable at $730/mt FOB; and barring few small volume transactions concluded by merchant exporters, market activity has persisted to be at its lowest level, traders said on Thursday, July 19.
“Large steel mills were seen to be keeping offer firm as with strong domestic demand, they are under no compulsion to adjust offers to attract unwilling buyers,” a Mumbai based trader said.
“However, merchant exporters on the other hand are seen to be contrcting few low volumes transactions with marginal discounts of around $10/mt in order to liquidate inventories and reduce stock carrying costs,” the trader added.
According to two other traders, buyers in Gulf Cooperation Council markets are seeking higher discounts of ranging $20-30/mt against the backdrop of lowering of flat product prices by Gulf steel producers. However, large Indian steel mills have been unwilling to decrease their quotations and have stayed away from concluding any transactions during the past week.