Though Emirati HRC customers have been cautious in recent purchases due to Covid-19, HRC exporters have increased their offers to the UAE in particular, following the global trend.
Сurrent Indian HRC offers are mostly at $455-460/mt CFR, rising by $15-20/mt over the past week. The material is for end of September-early October shipment. However, according to sources, already by the end of last week, Indian suppliers had started to push up their prices aggressively and, as a result, Emirati HRC customers have been forced to give up their firm bids at $430/mt CFR. SteelOrbis has been informed of a booking of 20,000 mt at $440/mt CFR, August shipment.
Japanese and South Korean suppliers are currently inactive in exports to the GCC, according to sources. “The last offers I received from South Korea were at $433/mt CFR Abu Dhabi, September delivery. But now with demand surging in China and their prices rising, obviously we cannot digest their offers”, an Emirati source said.