- Deals for EU
- Offers for key markets remain stable w-o-w
- Tokyo Steel lifts HRC offers by JPY 2,000/t ($14)
BigMint’s India HRC (SAE 1006) export index (for the Middle East and Vietnam) remained stable this week at $600/tonne (t) FOB east coast India, amid limited global market activities.
Rationale: No confirmed deal (T1) was reported in this publishing window. Nine indicative prices were considered as T2 inputs out of twelve inputs received. The final price was an average of T1 and T2 inputs, which stood at $600/t FOB. CFR prices were converted to FOB by deducting freight costs from the buyer or seller.
Market updates:
1. HRC export offers to ME range-bound, Chinese offers drop: Indian steel mills’ offers to the Middle East (ME) remained range-bound w-o-w to $635-640/t CFR. “The ME steel market remained stable and buyers are still in a wait-and-see mode” informed an ME based source. However, Chinese prices dropped by $10/t CFR w-o-w to $610-615/t CFR UAE against $620-625/t CFR UAE last week amid volatile Chinese Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) HRC futures.
2. Indian HRC export offers to EU remain unchanged w-o-w: Indian HRC exports to Europe (S275, 3mm) remained unchanged this week. Current offers are around $720-725/t CFR Antwerp ($670-675/t FOB east-coast India). Surging production and raw material costs are propelling EU domestic HRC prices upward, despite weaker demand. As a result, buyers are adopting a cautious approach, limiting purchases to immediate needs and closely monitoring market trends.
3. Indian HRC price indications to Vietnam remain stable w-o-w: Indian HRC export price indications to Vietnam remained flat w-o-w at $615-620/t CFR Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Market demand in Vietnam is weak. Chinese HRC (SAE1006) offers were reported at around $600-610/t CFR. With approaching Lunar holidays, fewer deals were heard last week. However, the Chinese SHFE HRC prices were up by RMB 33/t ($5/t) w-o-w to RMB 4046/t ($565/t) against RMB 4,013/t ($560/t) on 23 January.
“Indian HRC offers to the Europe (EU) and Middle East (ME) were largely similar to the previous week’s level, However, no firm offers for Vietnam,” informed sources.
Outlook:
The export offers for Indian HRCs are anticipated to remain at similar levels in the upcoming week, primarily due to the upcoming Chinese holiday. However, a positive market trend is expected towards the end of the month. Notably, China’s December 2023 output fell by 11% m-o-m to 67.44 million tonnes (mnt) against 76.1 mnt in November 2023. If the trend continues, lower allocations from China may support Indian exports.
Yesterday, Tokyo Steel, Japan’s top electric arc furnace steel producer, has hiked HRC offers (1.7-22mm) by JPY 2,000/tonne (t) ($14/t) for February 2024 sales.