The stable trend of Indian hot dip galvanized (HDG) export prices has proved short-lived with Indian exporters lowering their offers by $10/mt during the past week to $585/mt FOB, being forced to respond to the steady softening of ex-China offers but able to transact only limited booking volumes in the Gulf market, traders said on Thursday, June 20.
“Indian exporters have now gone in for six rounds of cuts in offers, apart from the previous week, but have still failed to attract any significant buying interest. Local exporters’ sustained adjustments in offers have largely been in response to large pressure building up from ex-China HDG offers,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“Even though offers have been lowered, exporters have been successful in concluding only small-volume trades with buyers in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region. While large mills have been totally absent from the export market, most Indian traders have also been disinclined to push large volumes overseas as current offers ensure only slight profit margins, and most of the deals concluded have been aimed at maintaining market presence,” the trader added.
At least two other traders opined that six cuts in offers one close on the heels of one another might be counter-productive in attracting buyers. They felt that the steady fall in offer levels indicates that the market might not have bottomed out and buyers are postponing booking decisions seeking further cuts before concluding any transactions.