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Indian mills continue to hold HRC export offers amid weak global market sentiments

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BigMint Bureau

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17 Sep 2024, 20:09 IST

Indian mills continue to hold HRC export offers amid weak global market sentiments

Indian steel mills have continued to hold their hot-rolled coil (HRC) export offers to Southeast Asia and the Middle East amid slow global market sentiment and the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival holidays. Meanwhile, Indian HRC export offers to Europe remained stable w-o-w, with no firm deals reported due to ongoing anti-dumping investigations.

"European buyers are reluctant to acquire Indian-origin HRCs amid concerns over anti-dumping measures, and market participants are cautious," a reliable source hinted.

1.HRC offers to EU stable w-o-w: India's HRC export offers to Europe (S275, 3mm) remained stable w-o-w at $600-605/t CFR Antwerp ($555-560/t FOB, east coast India). Anti-dumping investigations against Indian HRC have created uncertainty among European buyers, resulting in a slowdown in procurement. As for EU's domestic market, HRC prices have been falling amid oversupply and continued weak end-user demand.

2.HRC offers to ME rise w-o-w: China's HRC (Grade: S235 and S275) export offers to the Middle East (ME) up by $5-10/t w-o-w to $495-500/t CFE UAE, amid a recent deal. The offers are down from $490/t CFR UAE a week ago. A deal of around 10,000 tonnes (t) has been heard concluded at $500-505/t CFR for November shipments. However, buyers have adopted a wait-and-see approach due to ongoing mid-Autumn festival holidays in China from 15 to 17 September. Chinese SHFE HRC futures rose by RMB 66/t ($9/t) to RMB 3,211/t ($452/t) on 13 September from RMB 3,145/t ($443/t) as on 10 September.

3.Offers to Vietnam remains range bound w-o-w: China's HRC (SAE1006) export offers to Vietnam remained range bound for the week at $470-475/t CFR HCMC. Currently, prices of HRC (SAE1006, skin-pass) stand at $511-520/t CIF Ho Chi Minh City. Non-skin-pass coils are priced at $501-510/t CIF, depending on the volume booked. The company has kept prices steady amid weak market conditions and low-priced Chinese HRC imports.

Outlook

European buyers remain cautious due to anti-dumping concerns, which have dampened interest in offers to Europe, keeping prices stable. Additionally, the ongoing decline in HRC prices in the European domestic market, weak end-user demand in the Middle East, and competitive Chinese prices present significant challenges for Indian exporters. Furthermore, the global market has slowed due to the impact of the Chinese holidays, as market participants await the return of buyers.