Having faced a decline in inquiries domestically, India-based suppliers of hot rolled coil (HRC) have accelerated their efforts to sell to export destinations and, in particular, to the UAE. Moreover, discounts provided by some sellers have at once attracted Emirati customers.
Accordingly, SteelOrbis has heard of a booking of a mixed cargo of 15,000-20,000 mt of HRC at $725-735/mt CFR recently, though according to the seller the price is said to be on the higher side, with negotiations still under way. Meanwhile, last week offers to the UAE were hardly lower than $775/mt CFR. “It seems that following a sudden drop in their domestic sales, they [the mill] panicked,” another India-based supplier, also a traditional supplier to the UAE, commented, adding that their offers have settled at $745/mt CFR for now. 'This week, mills approached us with lower prices. However, we declined, preferring to watch further developments. The pent-up demand in India has dried up, with March being the end of the financial year. So it is not excluded that the prices will move down further, with Indian mills aiming to get cash,” an Emirati pipe producer stated.