SteelMint’s Indian HRC (SAE 1006) export index stands at $1,030/tonne (t) FoB east-coast basis, down by $14/t against $1,044/t FoB week-on-week (w-o-w).
The absence of buying interest among Vietnam re-rollers for Indian-origin HRC resulted in a drop in export offers. Thus, major steel mills have held on to their HRC export offers and are in a wait- and watch mode.
Meanwhile, Indian mills have also shifted their interest to domestic sales due to an unclear price direction in the overseas market. Recently, Indian mills have raised HRC prices by around INR 2,000-3,000/t for June deliveries.
Rationale-
Five indicative prices were considered as T2 inputs. The final price was an average of T2 inputs which stood at $1,044/t FoB. The CFR prices were converted to FoB equivalent by deducting freight costs from the buyer/seller.
Global HRC market highlights-
1. Chinese HRC export offer drops w-o-w- Major Chinese steel mills are offering HRC export offers at around $940-950/t FoB China. However, last week’s offers stood around $980-990/t FoB basis. Uncertainty on possible easing of production cuts in the Tangshan region dampened market sentiments, in turn, driving export offers this week.
2. Imported HRC offers to Vietnam from China decline steeply- Imported HRC offers from China dropped by $70/t w-o-w. Low buying preference for imported HRC against the cheaper domestically produced material remains the lead factor. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese market may witness a lockdown due to an increase in Covid infection cases which has weighed on trade activities.
- Chinese mills Rizhao and Shaganag are offering HRC at around $960-970/t CFR. The last offers heard were at $1,030-1,040/t CFR from the major mills.
- Indian HRC position cargo offers were assessed at $1,020/t CFR Vietnam. However, mills are not yet actively offering for exports. Price indications stand at $1,050/t CFR.
- Japanese mills remained less active in offering HRC for exports with just one player indicating prices of around $1,100/t CFR.
3. Imported HRC offers to Pakistan moderate- Chinese mills continue to offer HRC position cargoes to Pakistan at $950/t CFR, SteelMint learned from market sources. Last week, Pakistan-based importers were reported to have booked a few deals of HRC (SAE,1006, rerolling grade) at these levels for June shipments.
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