Over the past week, Emirati purchasers have remained active in the import market, particularly in sourcing from China and India. Nevertheless, market participants report that overall demand and trade continue to be slow, especially within the hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC) and galvanized steel segments. As demand slows, customers have increasingly pushed for lower price levels. Among key suppliers, only Indian mills have shown some flexibility in reducing prices, while Chinese and Japanese suppliers have generally kept their offers nearly stable from last week.
As a result, this week, China has sold 25,000 mt of HRC, tube-making grade, to the UAE at $514/mt CFR, with shipment scheduled for October. Meanwhile, offers for SS400 from Chinese suppliers have been reported at $510-520/mt CFR for October deliveries. Non-VAT suppliers have been quoted at approximately $495-500/mt CFR, the same as the previous week. In contrast, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been reported at $525/mt CFR, representing a decrease of $10/mt compared to the previous week.
Another recent deal has been reported from India, where HRC has been sold to UAE re-rollers in volumes of around 20,000-25,000 mt at $525-530/mt CFR. Although some lower-priced deals have been recorded with serious buyers, general offers from Indian suppliers remain relatively firm at $530-540/mt CFR for October shipment.
Meanwhile, Japanese suppliers, who concluded sales to both the UAE and Saudi Arabia last week at $510-515/mt CFR for October shipments, have kept their offers stable. Current quotations are reported at $510-520/mt CFR, nearly unchanged from previous weeks.
Additionally, offers from South Korean and Taiwanese suppliers have been reported at $530/mt CFR and $535/mt CFR, respectively, both for October shipment. However, no confirmed deals have been concluded from these origins so far this week.