While the HRC markets in the EU have been overwhelmed by the ongoing uncertainties due to CBAM-related issues, resulting in confusion in terms of setting import offer prices, North African HRC suppliers have become more active recently in their indications. While Algeria remains on the higher side of overall offer levels in the Mediterranean region, compared especially with Turkey at $540/mt FOB on average, Libya is the most aggressive supplier currently.
In Algeria, the most recent export offers for December shipment HRC have been reported at $570/mt FOB with a slight discount possible, down $20/mt over the past fortnight, market sources report. In particular, Algerian HRC offers to the EU have been heard at €490-500/mt CFR excluding estimated CBAM fees. However, no deals have been reported since buyers have been favoring material from India, Indonesia and partly from Turkey.
In the meantime, the local HRC prices in Algeria have settled at DZD 87,000/mt ex-works, which is around $600/mt ex-works, according to the exchange rate of $1 = DZD 130.5 and excluding nine percent VAT.
The Libyan HRC producer, which is a rare guest in export destinations, is reported to be in the market with a tender for less than 10,000 mt, for November shipment. In particular, the offers to the south of the EU, namely Greece, have been evaluated at €450-455/mt CFR and to the northern part of the EU the indications have been reported at €460-465/mt CFR. As a result, HRC export prices from Libya are quite aggressive at $505-510/mt FOB. “These sales of LISCO are usually aggressive due to the overall troubles in this country, but these tonnages also usually include over-rollings, hence the price,” a source told SteelOrbis.
In the Egyptian market, local prices of the main producer have remained at EGP 33,000/mt ex-works or $608/mt ex-works excluding 14 percent VAT, with $1 = EGP 47.59, though the Egyptian producer is not so active in exports at present, concentrating instead on domestic sales which are at least $70/mt higher priced compared to the latest export sales to Turkey a couple of weeks back at $530-535/mt FOB for end-of-November shipments.
Instead, there have been import offers for HRC of several origins to Egypt despite the safeguard of 13.6 percent or a minimum EGP 3,673/mt or $77/mt according to the current rate. Sanctioned ex-Russia material has been sold at around $465/mt CFR, which, considering the import tax, makes around $540/mt CFR and is still workable against the domestic price. Offers from China have been at $480-490/mt CFR or $562/mt CFR on average, including taxes.
The highest workable levels have been set from Turkey at slightly below $535/mt FOB or around $550/mt CFR Egypt, making it around by around $20/mt higher than the local price in Egypt. “Buyers complain there are some issues with the timing of local deliveries and, in addition, they think that around February the safeguard case will be revised or even dropped,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
