Import hot rolled coil (HRC) offers have continued to decline in the UAE under pressure from buyers and consequently new deals have been signed. However, while customers have opted to restock, market participants believe that end-user demand has remained modest.
“End-user demand is still lacking as a result of the ambiguity surrounding ongoing price reductions,” a UAE-based re-roller told SteelOrbis.
Accordingly, certain Indian mills have opted to drastically cut their prices, and about 10,000-15,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC has been sold for June shipment roughly at $605-610/mt FOB, translating to around $640/mt CFR UAE, down from $675-680/mt CFR in the previous week’s offers.
Similarly, Japan has dropped offers and sold around 30,000 mt of HRC to the UAE at $630/mt CFR, whereas the previous week's offers were at $685-690/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, ex-China offers have risen by $30/mt to $630/mt CFR due to the rebound in local and futures prices in China, although some Emirati market participants have stated that cheaper offers are still available in the market in the $600-630/mt CFR range.
On the other hand, South Korea has decided to remain at the same levels as last week at $670-680/mt CFR for shipment in July or late August.
