Ex-Japan HRC offers prices have fallen sharply in August amid tight competition with other foreign suppliers globally, especially those from China. At the same time, given that bearishness still persists, Japanese suppliers will likely keep providing discounts in new deals not only in Asia and the Middle East, but also in higher-priced destinations, such as Europe.
Prices for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC for the Asian region have slipped to $500-530/mt CFR in late August-early September, against $540-560/mt CFR in late July. According to sources, several deals have been reportedly signed in the first week of September at $500/mt CFR Bangladesh and at $505/mt CFR Nepal, thus, deal prices have lost more than $50/mt month on month. Furthermore, following several deals for ex-Japan HRC in Pakistan at $530/mt CFR in late August, this week, market insiders expect new deal prices at maximum $500/mt CFR level. In the meantime, Japanese suppliers have kept struggling to attract the attention of Vietnamese buyers given cheaper ex-China HRC.
Furthermore, one of the Japanese HRC producers is reported to have sold around 23,000 mt of HRC at $500/mt CFR to the UAE and around 7,000-10,000 mt of HRC in Saudi Arabia also at around $500/mt CFR. Thus, ex-Japan HRC prices in the Middle East have declined by around $50/mt month on month. “Japanese HRC deal prices are in line with or even lower than some of the Chinese offers and are much lower than what we initially expected,” an international trader based in Dubai told SteelOrbis.
In the meantime, Japanese suppliers have faced challenges in Europe due to the new safeguard quota measures and the announcement of an antidumping investigation against ex-Japan HRC. Thus, interest in Japanese HRC has declined significantly among European customers, while fresh offers for ex-Japan HRC have been voiced at around €550/mt CFR, against €580/mt CFR in late July.
