Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been corrected down once again by the end of the week as lower offers have been reported to the European market and in general bids from all customers have been falling day by day.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-India SAE1006 2 mm HRC has settled at $645-690/mt FOB, with the midpoint at $667.5/mt FOB, down by $15/mt on average from the level reported earlier this week and down by $22.5/mt over the past week. While the lower end of the range has remained stable from that reported on Tuesday, reflecting offers to the Middle East, the higher end of the range has lost $30/mt, taking into account the lower offers to Europe.
In particular, ex-India prices have come to $740-745/mt CFR in Europe, down from the previous deal at $760/mt CFR and offers at $760-780/mt CFR. “Demand is not enough for all suppliers, so that Asian sellers who need to sell will have to cut prices closer to $650/mt FOB,” an Asian HRC seller said in relation to the increased competition between ex-Japan, ex-South Korea and ex-India HRC in the European market.
The latest offers for ex-India coils in the UAE have been at $675-680/mt CFR, translating to around $645/mt FOB. But, according to market sources, the tradable level has to be $10-15/mt lower at least for customers to be interested in negotiations.