India: SAIL eyes over 100,000 t of steel export tenders

The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has floated over 1 lakh tonnes of mostly flat steel export tenders. In fact, one deal of 12,000 tonnes of plates was closed late last week for Italy at around $1005/t FoB, SteelMint heard from reliable sources, while negotiations are on for 19,000 tonnes of hot rolled coils (HRC) and 8,000 tonnes of cold rolled coils (CRC). The negotiations for the last two are valid till today while the destination has not been disclosed yet.

Additionally, around 66,000 tonnes of HRCs, CRCs, wire rods, plates and billets export tenders are expected to be closed this week.

The HRC and CRC export shipments could possibly have April as the delivery month.

SAIL sixth largest exporter
SAIL was the six-largest steel exporter from India in 2021 with volumes at 1.43 mnt. In Jan'22 alone, it exported around 43,000 tonnes. However, February volumes may rise m-o-m.

Overall finished flat steel comprised a leading 12.4 mnt share in India's overall 20.4 mnt steel exports in 2021.

Rise in export offers
Steel export offers have risen since the Russia-Ukraine war started, offering mills an opportunity to cash in on the changing global trade dynamics.

Current market offers for HRC & CRC are hovering at around $965 & 1,030/t FOB levels. Of late, mills have raised offers by $40-50/t. The spike comes on the back of raised domestic offers, changing trade dynamics born of the current geo-political tensions and mills being comfortably booked for March-April.