More offers for Indonesian HRC have been heard in various markets around the world this week. This activity has mainly been caused by Indonesian steelmaker Krakatau POSCO, which has decided to focus on exports due to the weak local HRC trade.
According to sources, ex-Indonesian HRC has been booked in Pakistan at $860/mt CFR this week, while offers have been voiced at $870-880/mt CFR. Meanwhile, HRC buyers in Vietnam have also reported an ex-Indonesia HRC offer at $850/mt CFR. “The Indonesian price is quite competitive, but we do not see any interest in Vietnam so far as buyers are not sure about the quality and prefer to wait for new prices from local producer Formosa Ha Tinh,” a Vietnam-based trader told SteelOrbis.
In addition, Turkish customers report an ex-Indonesia HRC offer, which is rare to this destination, at $905/mt CFR, although some Turkish buyers said the supplier is considering offering at $920/mt CFR, for March-April shipments. Ex-Indonesia offers have also been heard in the Middle East and Egypt at $910/mt CFR and $925-930/mt CFR, respectively.
“We offer to many countries because domestic demand can't absorb our HRC. We need to maximize our production, especially the second hot strip mill, to achieve a more efficient production cost,” a representative of Krakatau Steel mill told SteelOrbis. In its domestic market, HRC offers are at around $940/mt ex-works.
Krakatau Steel officially launched its second hot strip mill with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million mt of HRC in September 2021. In the meantime, though the facility was constructed by Krakatau Steel, the sales of the material are controlled by Krakatau POSCO at the moment.
