Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have consolidated at higher levels with the floor level price moving up on the back of strong bookings received by mills from Europe, SteelOrbis has learned from trade and industry circles. As a result, Indian exporters have been less active in most others sales destinations.
Ex-India SAE1006 2 mm HRC reference prices have settled at $670-720/mt FOB with the midpoint at $695/mt FOB, up by $30/mt over the past week, though stable from the price reported last Friday.
Sources said that bids at the lower end of $670-680/mt FOB were not being accepted by sellers with the minimum acceptable price moving up to $690-695/mt FOB and several mills were reported to have sold some volumes for April shipment to Europe at $705-720/mt FOB.
There was information about three deals from India to Europe for around 60,000 mt in total. Price levels in these transactions were at $695-710/mt FOB on average. One sale to southern Europe at $770-780/mt CFR was confirmed by SteelOrbis late last week, which translates to $705-720/mt FOB depending on freight. New offers to Europe have been reported at $780-790/mt CFR or $715-730/mt FOB. Two other deals to Europe were discussed in the market at a slightly lower level, but some sources said that they may have been done a bit earlier last week or freights are higher to some European countries, which made the FOB levels lower.
Also, there was talk about a Gujarat-based mill selling 15,000 mt to Oman at $690/mt FOB, though this has not been confirmed by the time of publication. The last offer prices from India to the UAE were at $720-730/mt CFR, but the activity in this destination was slow as buyers are waiting for Chinese sellers’ return. Moreover, “There is not much activity. We are not so interested, as other markets like the EU are better,” an Indian mill said.
Another trade for 15,000 mt to a trading firm at $685/mt FOB has also been heard, but the material will most likely not go to the European market.
“Ex-India exports are robust for sellers both in volumes and price. Offers above the $700/mt FOB have been submitted by the most active exporters. We assess that ex-China sellers will return shortly with higher offers, which will enable the market to consolidate further,” a source from the large Indian exporters said.
“Supply chains are stabilizing in the west. Mills in the EU region are considering a significant increase in local sales prices from March onwards. Asian activity will start bouncing back from next week onwards. Hence, India sellers are generally rejecting lower-level bids,” he said.