End-user demand in the UAE’s hot rolled coil (HRC) market has continued to fall, and so UAE purchasers have remained uninterested in restocking regardless of the fact that import offers for HRC, notably from China, have begun to decrease. Meanwhile, Indian and South Korean suppliers have continued to withhold offers since trade activities and desired higher offers in the UAE market have not met suppliers’ expectations.
“The domestic market is not doing well. In fact, it is extremely weak due to poor demand, though HRC prices appear to be falling,” a representative of a major re-roller said to SteelOrbis.
Over the past week, ex-China offers for SS400 HRC have decreased by $25-30/mt to $570-600/mt CFR for September shipments. However, due to the same worries about the UAE market, offering activity from most Indian and South Korean suppliers has been quiet over the past few weeks. Furthermore, according to the suppliers, this holding back of offers will persist further as Emirati buyers are cautious in terms of booking.
“We are still not offering and it looks like we will not offer for the next few months because the UAE market continues to trend down while the domestic market in India is still strong,” a representative of a major Indian exporter told SteelOrbis.
In addition, according to market participants, ex-Japan offers have been approximately at $605-610/mt CFR to the UAE during the week.
