SteelMint: India HRC export index remains flat w-o-w amid muted markets

• HRC export index unchanged at $583/t FOB
• No deals heard at current offers
• Vietnam’s Formosa Ha Tinh reduces monthly HRC prices for October deliveries
• Limited activity in Nepal and Europe amid holiday mood

SteelMint’s India HRC (SAE1006, boron-added) export index continues to hover at $583/t FOB east coast, unchanged against last week.

Domestic price reductions by mills in China and Vietnam amid slow home demand made Indian mills wait for further clarity on prices. Moreover, limited working days in the past week and the current one kept offers mostly range-bound.

Also, lower appetite for boron-added hot rolled coils (HRCs) and competitive offers from Chinese mills continue to remain a major bother for Indian mills.

Rationale: Twelve indicative prices were considered as T2 inputs, while there was no export deal reported to Vietnam or the UAE to be considered as T1. The final price was an average of T1 and T2 inputs which stood at $583/t FOB. The CFR prices were converted to FOB equivalent by deducting freight costs from the buyer/seller.

Market-wise highlights-

1. Offers to UAE remain firm: The Middle East market remained muted last week amid Muharram (8-9 August) holidays. However, Indian mills are scouting the market at $6m30-640/t CFR levels. “Market activities have resumed after the holidays. Our offers are already lower than the Chinese mills’, and there is much uncertainty with their (Chinese mills’) deliveries. As long as we are at par or lower than the Chinese mills, we should be able to sell,” informed a mill source.

2. Vietnam’s Formosa Ha Tinh reduces HRC prices for Oct deliveries: Indian mills have kept their offers firm at $620-630/t CFR Vietnam this week. This has come as a result of Vietnamese mill Formosa Ha Tinh reducing its prices by $45/t for October and early-November sales. Current offer from the mill for skin-passed HRC (SAE1006) stands at $610/t CIF Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

“Buyers are still waiting for the other mill, Hoa Phat, to announce its prices, which are likely to be out in the next couple of days,” said a reliable Vietnamese source.

Fresh indications for Chinese HRCs (SS400) are still hovering around $620/t CFR, while those for SAE1006 are at $625-630/t CFR, sources informed SteelMint.

3. Limited activity in European market: Fewer indications to the European market were heard, at $690-700/t, unchanged w-o-w. Most of the buyers are on holidays, hence market activity is quite low. Indian traders and mill sources are expecting the market to pick up by end of the month.

4. Offers to Nepal firm despite seasonal disruptions, festive mood: Offers to Nepal for the current week were heard at around INR 55,000/t (equivalent to $691/t) CFR Raxual border this week. Floods and other seasonal disruptions, and the approaching festive holidays have kept trade activities limited in the market, sources informed. Other sources citied issues such as limited appetitie for imported HRCs and concerns around opening of LCs.