- HRC export index unchanged w-o-w at $583/t FOB
- Indian mills focus more on domestic sales
- Vietnamese buyers continue domestic HRCs procurement
- Buyers move to sidelines amid China’s Golden Week (1-7 October) holiday
SteelMint’s India HRC (SAE1006, boron-added) export index remained unchanged for the third consecutive week at $583/t FOB east coast.
Higher realisation in the domestic market has kept Indian mills from reducing their export offers. “Indian mills are more focused in catering to the domestic market. Also, mills have increased domestic HRC list prices by INR 1,000/t for early-October sales and anticipate decent trade activities domestically ahead of the Diwali festival,” informed reliable sources.
Rationale: Seventeen 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 $583/t FOB. The CFR prices were converted to FOB equivalent by deducting freight costs from the buyer/seller.
Market-wise highlights-
1. Vietnamese buyers active in domestic market: Competitive prices of domestic mills have kept buyers enticed. Moreover, buyers are concerned after a decline in offers from Chinese mills ahead of the Golden Week holidays. Chinese mills were heard to have offered HRC (SAE1006) at $580-590/t CFR Vietnam (down, $10-20/t, w-o-w) and SS400 at $570-580/t CFR (unchanged w-o-w) before holidays.
Indian mills floated offers around $620-630/t CFR which are higher than both Vietnamese and Chinese mills.
2. UAE buyers on sidelines: Mirroring the previous week’s sentiments, most of the buyers in the UAE market have moved to the sidelines amid a lack of clarity about the price directions. Last floated offers from Chinese mills before the holidays were at $610-620/t CFR UAE. Now, buyers are awaiting the resumption of Chinese market post holidays. Bids from buyers were heard at around $605-615/t CFR a week ago.
Indian steel majors continue indicating at $630-640/t CFR levels for the UAE market.
3. European market continues to show limited interest: HRC export indications for the European market stand at around $670-690/t CFR Antwerp. Steel producers and end-industrial buyers have resorted to production cuts amid surging power costs. This along side lower acceptance of alloyed HRCs by Indian mills has weighed on buying interest of imported HRCs.
Outlook: HRC export offers from Indian mills are likely to remain range bound in the near term as mills refrain from quoting lower prices. Meanwhile, Chinese mills had increased HRC (SS400) export offers by $15/t to $590/t FOB towards the end of previous week amid an increase in domestic market prices. Further clarity on the direction of global HRC prices shall come as the China market resumes post the Golden Week holidays.
Leave a Reply