Ex-India hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil offers have been kept stable over the past week and, despite a couple of successful discounted deals in the Middle East, the outlook for overseas sales remains bearish as discounted levels are considered unsustainable and buyers from Europe are out of the market.
Sources said that, while ex-India HDG offers have remained unchanged in the range of $680-700/mt FOB, the few discounted sales did not trigger any optimism as many sellers claimed that the final prices were “too low and unviable to be sustained”, while there have been reports that some negotiations were called off over the past few days.
The sources said that among the successful sales was 8,000 mt for delivery to Qatar from an eastern India-based mill at a price in the range of $650-655/mt FOB. Besides, another trade for 15,000 mt was also reported for the delivery to the UAE in a price range of $645-650/mt FOB, the sources said.
At least two officials at private mills said that the discounted deals are unlikely to lead to a significant revival in overall trade volumes because buyers in Europe have become extremely cautious about concluding imports and are not responding to submitted offers.
The mood in Europe has become nervous amid unconfirmed reports and speculation relating to country-specific emission norms including India in the proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). “Even though these reports have not been confirmed and are largely speculative, EU buyers are not rushing to import. This has aggravated the already soft demand situation in the region,” one official told SteelOrbis.
