Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) exporters have been more active over the past week as negotiations in the Asian market have restarted and even sales of sizable tonnage have been rumoured in Vietnam. But only lower prices were considered to be at a tradable level and Indian mills are a bit more flexible now, being under pressure from falling sales and rising inventories in the local market, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles.
Ex-India HRC prices have been reduced to $840/mt FOB, down from levels of $840-850/mt FOB a week ago, based on the price level to key markets like Vietnam.
The sources said that an aggregate volume of up to 60,000 mt for October-November shipment was sold to Vietnam over the course of the past week at $890-895/mt on CFR basis, with the freight being assessed by market sources at $50-55/mt for a big cargo. This information has not been finally confirmed at the buyer’s side. “End-users here still hesitate to buy: I have not confirmed these sales,” a Vietnamese trader said.
Nevertheless, according to the sources, the resumption of negotiations with Vietnam has offered a window for local integrated steel mills to liquidate inventories even though price realizations are “unattractive” and would have been acceptable if domestic stock movement had not slowed down.
At least one official from an Indian government-run steel mill conceded that, with sales in the Gulf market drying up over the past week, the emergence of buyers in the Asian region has been seized on by producers to push deals even at lower prices, largely for inventory management purposes, in wake of the slowdown of stock movement in the local market.
A contract for ex-India HRC, for at least 20,000 mt, is rumoured to have been done at $880/mt CFR early last week, translating to near the same FOB level as in the sale to Vietnam. But the downtrend in Turkey and the high competition with the CIS in this market make further sales unlikely.
An eastern India-based steel mill has reported a deal with a Singapore-based trading firm for 15,000 mt at near $890/mt CFR, sources said.
