Indian exporters have attempted to push up flat steel export offers during the past week, but they were very selective in concluding deals and stopped giving discounts in view of the improving situation in the domestic market, SteelOrbis has been informed.
Ex-Indian hot rolled coil (HRC) export deals were closed at $425-430/mt FOB over the past week ended on November 25, up $15/mt from transaction prices the week before.
Sources said that a western India-based large steel mill concluded an export contract to Vietnam at around $427/mt FOB, which corresponds to $450-455/mt CFR. Market sources estimated the volume to be in the range of 5,000-7,000 mt. Moreover, offers for ex-India HRC are coming mostly at $460/mt CFR Vietnam early this week (about $435-438/mt FOB).
Furthermore, an eastern India-based integrated steel mill reported an export deal for ex-India HRC for early January delivery with buyers in Malaysia at $425/mt FOB, though the volume of the shipment could not be determined independently, the sources said.
Traders said that most domestic steel mills are pushing export offers higher in the wake of the revival of domestic prices and booking volumes, together with the easing of pressures from inventories. However, the traders said that steel mills were only concluding deals where offers were being accepted without any discount, as the pressure on local steel mills to conclude export contracts had eased slightly.
“Indian steel exports have become very competitive particularly in key markets like Malaysia and Vietnam. Domestic steel mills have been very aggressive in exporting HRC to offset sluggish local demand and rising inventories and their success can be gauged from the fact that total export bookings during October 2019 by all large steel mills are estimated at 400,000 mt,” a manager at Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) said.
According to a Mumbai-based trader, because of ready inventories available at large domestic steel mills, the latter have been able to cut down delivery times to slightly less than 30 days on average to destinations in Southeast Asia, comparatively much faster than competing exporters.