Indian
hot rolled coil prices have softened by a further $15-20/tonne this week;
however, mills are still reluctant to quote low numbers and are instead asking
buyers to send them bids. Buyers – aware of Indian offers in different markets
– are seen throwing out lower bids in the hope of concluding deals at huge
discounts, Kallanish notes.
Moreover, inflation in Western markets has directly and
indirectly impacted Indian HRC, by reducing enquiries from Europe and Vietnam.
The latest offer for Indian SAE 1006 2mm+ HRC was heard last week at
$610/t cfr Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), right before China’s market plunged. A
deal was not concluded and buyers are now heard bidding at $570-575/t cfr HCMC.
No offers were heard floated by Indian mills this week.
“Vietnam is down for Indian HRC now,” says a trading source.
“Bids from Vietnam are low now and no Indian mills have floated any offers for
this week to Vietnam.”
Initial quotes for 2mm+ re-rollable grade HRC to the Gulf
Cooperation Council are heard this week at $690-700/t cfr Jebel Ali; however,
Indian mills are accepting bids at as low as $640-650/t cfr. A deal for 20,000
tonnes of structural grade HRC was heard concluding at $670/t cfr Jebel Ali
last week.
An enquiry for 10,000-12,000t of multiple grades of re-rollable
HRC was made by a United Arab Emirates-based mill at $600/t cfr, which is
unworkable for Indian mills.
“Our sales have reduced to 50% of what we used to do before,” says
a GCC-based mill source. “We are facing strong resistance from our buyers and
no one is in a hurry to book as the market is sliding very quickly.”
“Moreover, we are also seeing Indian mills offering different
numbers to Vietnam and different yet higher numbers to GCC-based buyers. This
partiality is favouring Vietnamese sellers as their inward and outward freight
to the US is low as compared to ours and hence selling the HRC at a lower price
to them is kicking us out of the competition,” the GCC source adds.
Indications for large and small quantities to Europe are heard
at $670-675/t cfr Italy and $700/t cfr Antwerp, respectively.
After the recent hikes in Turkish mills’ domestic HRC offers,
Indian mills are mulling concluding a few deals this week at $660-670/t cfr
Turkey levels.
The Indian rupee is expected to touch INR 81/dollar in the
coming weeks, as per analysts. This will in turn help Indian mills to further
drop their offers without denting their rupee realisations. However, European
and Turkish buyers are also facing currency devaluation, which may hamper
Indian mills’ ability to sell there.
Meanwhile, E250-grade HRC offers in the domestic market are
heard at INR 58,500/t ($731.54/t) ex-Mumbai this week. Offers for E350 and GP
coils are noted at INR 61,000/t and 68,000/t ex-Mumbai, respectively