Expectedly, ahead of the Chinese New Year, a number of import offers to the US have been withdrawn, with anticipation that post-holiday prices are likely to be higher. Chinese offers for HDG 0.019"x48" G90 and HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30 were closed last week and new offers may not be available until early next week. But when new prices are offered, traders said that Chinese mills could attempt a price increase, depending on the strength of their local market. Additionally, Chinese and Taiwanese Galvalume 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 offers were also withdrawn but traders told SteelOrbis that both offers are slated to increase next week.
Already, offer prices out of other regions have been on the rise. In particular, Indian offer prices for HDG 0.019"x48" G90 and HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30 are up $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) since last week and while a few orders were placed at previous prices, the increase has slowed interest. Mexican mills are also likely to raise their Galvalume 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 prices about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) from the current range of $44.00-$45.00 cwt. ($970-$992/mt or $880-$900/nt) DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston. While they will certainly be met with some resistance from US buyers, if Chinese and Taiwanese prices are up substantially next week, typical import buyers will likely be more inclined to pay an increase on Mexican Galvalume coil.
| Cwt. | Metric ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| Import HDG offers to the US | ||||
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| China* | $41-$42 | $904-$926 | $820-$840 | neutral |
| India* | $42.50-$43.50 | $937-$959 | $850-$870 | ↑ $0.50 cwt. |
| 0.019" x 48" G90 | ||||
| China* | $44.50-$45.50 | $981-$1,003 | $890-$910 | neutral |
| India* | $43.50-$45.50 | $959-$1,003 | $870-$910 | ↑ $0.50 cwt. |
| Import Galvalume offers to the US | ||||
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| Mexico** | $44-$45 | $970-$992 | $880-$900 | neutral |
**DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston