Indian hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil exporters have maintained their offers unchanged during the past week at $610/mt FOB with limited success in concluding contracts in view of the sluggish demand in key markets, traders said on Thursday, July 25.
Market sources said that only a few trader have been able to conclude bookings of limited volumes with buyers in Indonesia and Vietnam, while buying interest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has remained at very low levels.
The sources said that the stability of the Indian rupee-US dollar exchange rate has also not offered any additional incentive to push volumes overseas.
Most large Indian steel mills and Indian traders have preferred to wait and watch how export prices react following reports this week of production cuts by Chinese steel mills. The sources said that Indian exporters are expecting that lower ex-China exportable HDG volumes will offer Indian exporters the opportunity to increase offers to compensate for comparatively lower margins owing to the strong Indian currency.
“Another significant development being kept under close watch by India exporters are the reports that EU buyers have exceeded their quota of ex-China material and it is possible that ex-India HDG will now attract the attention of EU buyers. But for Indian exporters to be able to seize this window of opportunity will largely depend on their ability to match the price competitiveness of ex-China HDG at a time when Indian production costs are rising, against the backdrop of the strong domestic currency,” a Mumbai-based trader said.