Indian CRC export prices to EU remain stable w-o-w

Indian CRC export offers to Europe (EU) remained flat for the week at $780-785/t CFR ($730-735/t FOB east-coast India). Despite stable market offers, small quantity deals of around 2,000-3,000 tonnes (t) were heard concluded at similar price levels, sources informed BigMint.

Factors driving CRC export prices:

Domestic steel demand sluggish in Europe: European steel markets have been slow; buyers are holding off on purchases as they are expecting domestic prices to drop. This wait-and-see approach has led to a drop in trading activity. Even import offers are in a downward trend, but European buyers are wary of committing to overseas purchases due to the long delivery times (June-July) in such a volatile market environment.

Chinese CRC export offers: Chinese CRC export offers fell by $5/t w-o-w to $645/t FOB this week against $650/t FOB previous week, with decline in SHFE (Shanghai Futures Exchange) HRC Futures.

China's (SHFE) HRC futures on 6 March 2024 edged down by RMB 30/t ($4/t) d-o-d basis reaching RMB 3,844/t ($534/t). However, the same declined by RMB 83/t ($12/t) against RMB 3,927/t ($545/t) a week ago.

Declining HRC price: Unlike CRC, HRC prices to EU have sharply dropped by around $15/t w-o-w amid recent deals. Current offers are around $665-675/t CFR Antwerp ($615-625/t FOB east-coast India) against $680-690/t CFR Antwerp last week. BigMint learnt two deals of around 10,000 t at $675/t CFR Antwerp and around 15,000-20,000 t at $665/t CFR Italy concluded last week for April shipments.