Import offers from China for 2.5 mm HRC are currently assessed at USD 280-285/MT, CNF India for November shipments. Not many offers from Japan/Korea were reported post imposition of safeguard duty by the Indian government.
However, a market participant reported that a Korean mill was offering HRC at around USD 310-315/MT, CNF India to end-users.
Export prices from China have fallen down further as compared to last week owing to subdued steel demand.
In 2014, Chinese government discouraged investments in construction and real estate sector in the light of demand-supply mismatch. As a result, construction activities have slowed down considerably.
Steel demand in China, which was at its peak in 2013, is anticipated to fall down by 3.5% in 2015 and 2% in 2016.
Indian HRC export offers remain high
Indian HRC export offers are assessed in the range of USD 345-350/MT, FoB India. However, there is no buying interest at this level because of cheap offers from China, Japan/Korea and Russia.
JSW Steel’s Dolvi plant in Maharashtra is undergoing expansion and no production activity is being undertaken till Dec’15. Thus currently, there is no selling interest in HRC from JSW Steel, one of the biggest HRC exporter in India.
CRC market sentiments
0.90 mm CRC is being offered from China at USD 330/MT, CNF India. India’s total CRC imports during 1-15 Oct’15 were 44,708 MT and the highest quantity was booked from Korea, followed by Japan and China.
With increase in CRC imports post safeguard duty, industry is demanding imposition of safeguard duty on entire value chain that includes CRC, coated steel, pipes and tubes.
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