India: HRC export offers remain stable w-o-w amid softening global market sentiments

• Chinese HRC offers to ME, Vietnam decline
  
  
• Anti-dumping probes, tariffs a concern
  
  

Indian hot-rolled coil (HRC) export prices remained stable w-o-w despite softening market sentiments, with offers to the Middle East (ME) and Europe steady amid competitive quotes from other regions. However, mills continued to keep on hold their offers to Southeast Asia.

Moreover, ongoing geopolitical issues in the Middle East and anti-dumping investigations kept global market sentiments sluggish.

Market updates

1. HRC offers to EU remain range-bound w-o-w: Indian steel mills' offers to Europe remained range-bound w-o-w at $590-595/tonne (t) CFR Antwerp ($540-545/t FOB east coast, India). Meanwhile, European HRC prices remained stable amid low market activity, driven by weak demand from the automotive and construction sectors. A supply glut has kept prices under pressure, while import demand has been hindered by quotas and anti-dumping investigations. However, potential tariffs, proposed by the European Council, may lead to price hikes throughout the value chain.

2. China's HRC quotes to ME drop w-o-w: Chinese HRC (grades S235 and S275) export offers to the ME decreased by $20/t w-o-w to $530-535/t CFR UAE, as compared to $550-555/t CFR UAE a week ago. A source informed, "18,000 t of HRCs were booked from China at $530/t CFR UAE." Conversely, Indian export offers to ME remained largely stable at around $570/t CFR UAE, and no firm deals were heard concluded.

3. Offers to Vietnam fall w-o-w: China's HRC (SAE1006) export offers to Vietnam fell to $530-535/t CFR Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) against $545-550/t CFR HCMC a week ago. Moreover, HRC futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) decreased by RMB 107/t ($15/t) w-o-w to RMB 3,522/t ($495/t). However, on a d-o-d basis, prices rose by RMB 37/t ($5/t) from RMB 3,485/t ($489/t) on 18 October.

Outlook

The outlook for the global steel market remains mixed, with geopolitical tensions and anti-dumping investigations continuing to weigh on sentiments. While Indian HRC export offers remained relatively stable, Chinese offers declined, leading to increased competition in certain markets.