This week, most large Indian mills have completely stopped submitting hot rolled coil (HRC) offers across export markets to avoid mounting negative uncertainties and declining prices, with buyers in the Middle East heard to be seeking “unviable discounts”, while there has been little interest in imports in Europe.
Sources said that indicative ex-India HRC prices are stable at $560-600/mt FOB, but no seller has reported submitting offers following reports about buyers in the Middle East seeking deep discounts at as low as $520/mt FOB, or around $550/mt CFR, while ex-China SS400 HRC prices have been reported at $535-540/mt CFR UAE this week.
According to sources, current prices being reported from the main destinations for Indian exports “were completely unviable for local mills and entailed negative margins from selling overseas.”
In the meantime, offers for ex-India HRC in Europe have been estimated at $650/mt CFR, the same as last week, though no deals have been reported.
“Global trade volumes are on the lower side with buyers continuously deferring purchases expecting further declines. Current prices are not only very low for us but also very volatile. We are extremely careful in concluding sales overseas as margins are bordering on the negative side,” a source at a private mill told SteelOrbis.
“With today's price correction in China, we expect to see some correction in ex-India HRC prices as well, while local HRC prices may go down below INR 50,000/mt ($597/mt),” another Indian source said.