Ex-India hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices have been dropped by a few large local mills in the past week in an attempt to drive sales, but buyers in the Middle East did not respond while ongoing talks in the EU are yet to yield success, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Thursday, April 10.
Sources said that some large local mills have dropped HDG (grade Z120) prices by $20/mt to the range of $680-700/mt FOB, but buyers in the Middle East are heard to be taking a pause on ground of sufficient stocks at present.
Meanwhile, some large mills which had initiated a sales pitch with buyers in Europe have not reported any conclusive deals. According to insiders, while a section of EU-based distributors preferred to defer concluding sales agreements awaiting further clarity on tariffs, some talks were stalled owing to the bid-offer disparity, with further $20-30/mt discounts being sought on lower offers, thereby stalling deals.
A western India-based mill is heard to have sold around 5,000 mt to a West African destination at $690/mt FOB, but this has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
“Some Indian mills have started submitting offers and carrying out sales negotiations in Italy and Germany. But any deal will be protracted. Buyers are awaiting a clearer local price trend as higher levels are facing resistance. They are bidding very low as there is no urgency in committing to imports,” an affiliate of Tata Steel Limited told SteelOrbis.
“Our assessment is trade activity will remain minimal in the current quarter. There can be some pick-up in the second quarter (July-August). But pricing will be a big challenge with the surplus volume in trade led by China and import safeguards in key destinations. We see the workable price below the $650/mt FOB mark,” he added.