Indian CRC export prices fall by $10/t w-o-w on global cues

Indian CRC export offers to Europe (EU) fell by $10/tonne (t) CFR Antwerp w-o-w to $780-785/t ($730-735/t FOB east-coast India) against $790-795/t CFR a week ago. Despite drop in offers, not many deals were reported. A deal for around 2,000 t was concluded at similar price levels, sources informed BigMint.

Reasons driving Indian CRC export prices

Chinese CRC export offers stable: Despite the upward trend in SHFE futures, Chinese CRC export offers held steady at $650/t FOB this week, showing no change from the previous week.

Despite the lingering effects of rain, snow, and freezing temperatures in the southern region of China, overall demand recovery is not as robust as last year, leading to relatively low market transactions. The Central Meteorological Observatory predicted that the rainy conditions in the south will persist at least until the end of February till the beginning of March.

After dropping steeply last week, Chinese SHFE HRC futures edged up by RMB 19/t ($3/t) to RMB 3,927/t ($545/t) against RMB 3,908/t ($543/t) last week. Furthermore, the same went up by RMB 26/t ($4/t) d-o-d as compared to RMB 3,901 ($542/t) on 27 February.

Domestic steel demand in EU weak: The European steel market saw fewer deals at the beginning of the week. This is because buyers were hesitant to build up their stocks due to uncertainty over prices in the near future. Moreover, several market players believe that producers might cut production soon if demand does not pick up. In the meantime, buyers are making short-term purchases and avoiding building up stocks because they expect prices to decrease further.