SteelMint’s India HRC (SAE1006, boron-added) export index remained rangebound at $573/t FOB east coast India. The ongoing festive season of Diwali has continued to keep the market quiet with the majority of the mills remaining out of the export market and industry participants awaiting fresh round of offers for December-January shipments.
Rationale: Thirteen indicative prices were considered as T2 inputs, while there were no deals to be reported as T1 under the rationale. The final price was an average of T1 and T2 inputs which stood at $573/t FOB. The CFR prices were converted to FOB equivalent by deducting freight costs from the buyer/seller.
Market Highlights:
Cost-effective offers from China pull-down prices in Vietnam: For Chinese origin HRC (SAE1006) mills were heard quoting at $555/t CFR Vietnam down by around $15 from the previous week’s offer. Offers for Chinese SS400 grade HRC were heard on the lower side of $520/t CFR. Similar price indications for Japanese HRC too have fallen by $5-10/t w-o-w to $560/t CFR. Buyers are expecting prices to drop further, hence are waiting before making fresh purchases.
Last heard indications from Indian mills were around $600-620/t CFR.
UAE demand subdued: Buying interest in the UAE remains subdued as customers are quiet. “Customers are very silent. Buyers are looking for $580/t CFR levels or even lower. Chinese mills may be ok but since these will be Jan shipments, its too soon to talk,” highlighted a source.
Indication to the market from Indian mills last week hovered in the range of $620-630/t CFR.
Buying interest low in Europe: Buying interest remains low in the European market which has forced local mills to offer discounts to entice buyers. The country is grapling with issues like surging power costs, decline in domestic HRC prices amid high inventory and lower acceptance of boron-added HRCs from Indian mills. Last week indications for Indian origin HRCs stood around $640/t CFR Antwerp.
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