Indian exporters of hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils have seized opportunities provided by the weak rupee to reduce offers by around $5/mt during the past week to levels in the range of $830-835/mt CFR US, resulting in a sharp improvement in transaction activity to the US, traders said.
According to two Mumbai-based trader-exporters, the weak Indian rupee at an exchange rate of INR 57.87 to one dollar has enabled exporters to reduce offers to conclude transactions in higher volumes.
"With the weak rupee ensuring higher export realizations, exporters have been able to attract higher buying activity among US buyers who had previously been cautious," the traders said.
"Unlike earlier in the month when HDG ex-China pulled away buyers from Indian markets, the lowering of Indian offers has been able to revive export activity," the traders added.
Some market sources said that banking on currency levels to bolster the market may not be possible for long, since the overall flat product market in the US has remained tentative.
However, other market sources said that, with domestic flat product prices in the US on the rise, imports into US could rise in the short term, triggering improved interest in Indian HDG offers.
No major transactions have been reported in the market for the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) with sources pointing out that buyers in the region have not been concluding transactions ahead of Ramadan and short working hours in the Middle East.