Following a sharp decrease in April, ex-Japan HRC offers continued to tumble in May amid the prevailing bearish sentiments in the overseas markets, triggered by significant decreases in China. Besides, pressure kept increasing not only from Asia, but also in higher-priced markets like the EU where more and more aggressive offers were appearing from different suppliers globally.
Specifically, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC for the Asian region have dropped to $600-610/mt CFR in late May, down by $60-70/mt over the past month. According to sources, Japanese HRC suppliers have continued to struggle to attract the attention of Asian buyers given tough competition with Chinese suppliers. In Vietnam, for instance, by the end of May, offers from Japan have been reported at $600-605/mt CFR, while ex-China SAE1006 HRC offers have settled at $560/mt CFR. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, extremely limited sales were reported in May, with most offers staying at around $610-615/mt CFR by the end of the month.
In the meantime, Japanese suppliers have kept actively offering their materials to the European market, though, once again facing strong competition from suppliers from Asia and Egypt. In late May, offers for ex-Japan HRC have been heard at around €640-645/mt CFR southern Europe, versus €720/mt CFR last month. However, according to market insiders, talk about ex-Japan offers at €610/mt CFR has been circulating among Italian buyers.
At the same time, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have remained rare in the Middle East, with the indicative prices standing at around $635/mt CFR, compared to $730/mt CFR in late April. Though despite the decrease, Japanese offers have been rather uncompetitive as compared to deal prices for ex-India HRC at $625/mt CFR and offers for ex-China HRC at $570-575/mt CFR.
