Following the global price trend, prices for Japanese hot rolled coil (HRC) in the export market have not changed much over the past month. As a result, Japanese HRC offers have remained competitive in almost all main destinations, especially in high-priced markets like the EU and the Middle East, standing in line with other foreign suppliers.
Offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC to Asian customers have settled at $600-630/mt CFR in late July, versus $595-600/mt CFR in late June. However, despite offer price increases, market insiders have reported several deals signed at lower levels last week, as most customers kept pushing for discounts. In particular, a deal for around 10,000 mt of ex-Japan HRC was reported in Pakistan at $595/mt CFR, while several batches were sold at around $595-600/mt CFR Bangladesh. Ex-Japan offers in Southeast Asia have been reported at $600-620/mt CFR, with the lower end of the range corresponding to offers in Vietnam and with the higher end in offers to Malaysia and Indonesia.
At the same time, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC to the Middle East have been reported at around $600/mt CFR, compared to $590-600/mt CFR last month, with several deals signed at $585-595/mt CFR UAE two weeks ago, according to sources.
In the meantime, Japanese suppliers have kept actively offering their materials to the European market, though once again they are facing strong competition from other Asian suppliers. In late July, offers for ex-Japan HRC have been heard at €600-620/mt CFR, versus €600-630/mt CFR in late June, but down at least €10-20/mt since mid-July. “Japanese suppliers made attempts to increase their offers in Europe in early-to-mid July, but the market was not ready to accept higher prices, so Asian suppliers, including the Japanese, were forced to lower their offers to attract buyers,” an Italian trader told SteelOrbis.