Indian hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil exporters have maintained their offers unchanged during the past week at $750/mt FOB, but have persisted with discounts to the Gulf market to sustain shipment volumes amid falling market prices, traders said on Thursday, April 12.
Sources said that offers to the Gulf Co-operation Council markets have been at around $860/mt CFR Gulf, but discounts on offer are in the range of $20-40/mt as Indian exporters have been keen to maintain a market presence even though HDG prices are seen to be softening in the region.
However, at least two commercial exporters have said that transaction volumes to the Gulf have remained low as buyers are cautious and have preferred to wait for prices to bottom out.
“Market sentiment among Gulf buyers is cautious as overall prices of flat steel products in the region are expected to fall further in reaction to the uncertainty in the US market and most deals concluded by a few Indian commercial exporters are for small tonnages,” a Mumbai-based trader said.
“With no US buyers active in the local market, Indian HDG exporters have no option but to continue offering discounts in order to maintain a presence in the Gulf. However, the further depreciation of the Indian rupee against the dollar during the past week is limiting the negative impact of higher discounts on net export margins,” the trader added.