Ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) prices were maintained unchanged while trade has remained at a standstill and the earlier optimism for deals emerging has faded amid the absence of interest from buyers in the Middle East amid more competitive Chinese offers, while buyers from Europe “are not even responding to offers”.
Sources said that ex-India HRC prices are unchanged at $520-540/mt FOB, but the lack of deals has not been surprising considering that mills from China have kept pushing overseas sales to most destinations at sub-$500/mt FOB prices, with workable prices as low as $485/mt FOB also heard, levels which are completely out of bounds for Indian sellers. Offers for ex-India HRC in the UAE have been reported at around $550/mt CFR, against $550-560/mt CFR last week, while suppliers from China have been offering their HRC at around $530/mt CFR and slightly lower.
At the same time, tentative optimism over even a modest revival of exports to Europe has faded with a few offers submitted by large local mills not evoking any response. Sources said that there were initial hopes of EU distributors commencing imports after local mills hiked prices. But the latter have not been able to sustain their hikes and, with prices falling back, imports are being deferred by market intermediaries. Offers for ex-India HRC in Europe have remained at $590/mt CFR, which translates to around $535-540/mt FOB.
“Even the usual year-end buying demand from Europe is missing and hence mills are finding it hard to maintain the same prices as last month’s levels in the local market in India,” an Indian trader told SteelOrbis.
“Indian mills have not been able to become active in any of the key destinations. In Asia, ex-China competition is too strong. Demand is weak in Europe and, with domestic prices not able to sustain at higher levels, imports are also muted. Middle East buyers are on the sidelines as business activity slows down for the holidays,” a source at Tata Steel Limited said.