The Indian HRC export index has come down this week by $13/tonne (t) after remaining rangebound for the past three consecutive weeks. SteelMint’s Indian HRC export index dropped to $865/tonne (t) FOB east coast compared to the previous week’s offer of $878/t FOB.
The market in Vietnam (which is one of India’s traditional export destinations) turned quiet after the aggressive HRC deals concluded for CIS-origin to Vietnam last week.
“The market sentiments have turned bearish with people side-lining themselves expecting further decline in offers after Indian and Russian mills reduced their offers by the end of the previous week,” said a reliable trade source.
Rationale: Six indicative prices were considered as T2 inputs while no major export deals were reported as T1. The final price was an average of T1 and T2 inputs which stood at $865/t FOB. The CFR prices were converted to FOB equivalent by deducting freight costs from the buyer/seller.
Global HRC market overview
1. China’s HRC export price indications down $10/t: Indications from Chinese mills for HRCs (SS 400) were heard at $970-990/t FOB China, down by $10/t compared to $970-1,000/t FOB in the previous week. Competitive offers from Russian and Indian mills have kept buyers in the South East Asian countries enticed. Also, the buyers in other markets are delaying procurements to avoid any risk that might arise out of the export tax imposition.
2. CIS export offers down on the week: The export offers from CIS fell by $10/t this week to $830-855/t FOB Black Sea compared with $840-865/t FOB a week ago. The market sentiments turned weak with the consecutive decline in prices over the past five weeks. Along with this, the buyers have turned more cautious in expectation of further fall in prices.
3. Vietnamese HRC importers turn silent after bookings from Russia: Vietnamese importers took to the sidelines after making a hefty booking of around 130,000 t of HRC in two separate deals at $850/t CFR basis about a week back. The shipment pertains to Dec’21.
“The domestic steel manufacturer, Formosa, might announce a cut in offers with the price policy announcement expected in the next couple of weeks. Hence, buyers would like to wait now after having imported good volumes and might make any more procurements domestically,” SteelMint learned from a credible Vietnam-based channel partner.
Offers from major exporting nations
a. Indian mills continued offering around $890/t CFR basis, however, bids were heard at around $870/t CFR.
b. Russian offers fell to $850/t CFR basis against previous offers of $870-890/t CFR.
c. Chinese tier-III mill offers were heard at around $900/t CFR. No offers heard from tier-I or II mills.
d. No offers were heard from South Korea or Japan.
4. Festive mood keeps market activities slow in Nepal: Unlike the previous week, the market is seeing more and more participants leaving with the Durga Puja festival closing in. “There are no major activities happening and the last offers heard from Indian mills were around $855-860/t CFR Raxual border,” shared sources based in Nepal.
5. Pakistan market sees limited HRC offers: Pakistan’s market has seen limited offers for imported HRCs this week. Offers from Russia are at $870-880/t CFR Pakistan levels. However, no firm offers from China and Japan were heard.
Leave a Reply