India: HRC export index falls by $10/t amid holidays

• SteelMint’s India HRC export index drops further by $10/t w-o-w
• Middle East countries observing week long Eid holidays
• Demand remains low in the European market, weighs on offers.

SteelMint’s India HRC export index dropped to $910/t FOB east compared to last week’s $920/t FOB level. Most of the major importing countries are either showing low preference for imported HRCs or are observing holidays. Hence, there has not been any major change in offers from the Indian mills.

Mills are just quoting offers, but there are hardly any transactions taking place, hence, it’s very difficult to talk about workable price offers. Few mills were heard to be deferring their export bookings amidst cost push and other factors which had kept them less active in the export markets in the past couple of weeks. 

Market-wise highlights

1. Vietnamese end-users stick to domestic procurements: Low sales realisations from the Vietnamese markets are keeping Indian mills away from offering in the region. Meanwhile, Chinese HRC (SAE1006) export offers have been hovering low at $850-860/t CFR Vietnam. Moreover, Vietnamese buyers are engrossed in procuring HRCs domestically which is keeping the demand for imported HRCs low, even for the competitively priced Chinese ones.

2. Middle East market remains closed on Eid holidays: The markets in Middle East, especially the UAE, stayed muted on the occasion of Eid since last Friday. The market is likely to open after a couple of days. Last heard offers were in the range of $950-980/t CFR UAE from India, while from China, they was around $930-940/t CFR.

3. Buying interest remains low for imported HRCs in Europe: The HRC (S275) export workable price indications to Europe remained range-bound at $1,100-1,140/t CFR against the previous week’s assessment of $1,130-1,140/t CFR. The trade activities with the European countries have gradually slowed since mid-April as they were impacted by the issues around opening of LCs with the banks.

On the other hand, Indian mills’ domestic price announcements are due for the month of May. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) rolled over HRC and CRC list prices for early-May 2022 sales, sources informed SteelMint. Export prices are likely to see some clarity towards the end of the week when major countries resume work after holidays.