Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been mostly kept stable in the past week, but large mills have continued to refrain from submitting offers across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe in face of stiff competition, and have instead focused on pushing higher volumes in the local market.
Sources said that, while ex-India HRC prices have settled at $560-590/mt FOB, versus $560-585/mt FOB last week, stray bids have been heard at low levels of $520-530/mt FOB for small lots, but have not been considered by sellers to be viable.
According to sources, export prices are too low, and so Indian mills are not eyeing export orders openly in the market, though it is thought that this month we may see some sales by Indian mills to Nepal at $560-570/mt delivered to the Nepalese border.
“Globally, finished steel prices are on extremely weak grounds. For most mills, the bids received ensure margins at the currency exchange rate. In real terms, current export prices mean negative returns for sellers and are not financially viable for producers,” a source at a private mill told SteelOrbis.
“Even while local markets continue to be challenging, mills are better placed to push higher volumes in local sales and focus on top-line growth in terms of revenue generation than sell at negative margins overseas,” another market insider said.