Posted on 24 Mar 2022
Despite demand from Europe dipping after buyers there secured tonnages, Indian mills have further raised their hot rolled coil offers, mainly because of high input costs, exhausted export allocations and the fiscal year-end, various sources inform Kallanish.
Initial offers to Europe are heard at around $1,300-1,320/tonne cfr, depending on mill and port of origin; however, actual deals are concluded at comparatively lower numbers. An Indian mill sold a small quantity of HRC at $1,300/t cfr Antwerp on Monday, equating to $1,190-1,200/t fob India.
“Mills are indicating high offers for better realisations, but deals are happening at a low price,” says a senior trader. “Coking coal has started to soften this week and we expect Indian offers to cool down after this fiscal year-end [31 March 2022].”
Domestic retail offers for E250 grade HRC are noted stable on-week at INR 74,000-75,000/t ($967-981) ex-Mumbai. Offers for E350 and galvanized plain sheet are pegged at INR 77,000-77,500/t ex-Mumbai and INR 84,000-84,500/t ex-Mumbai, respectively.
“Domestic HRC offers are noted stable till today; however, prices are expected to rise in a day or two. We have started feeling the tempo for price hikes in the market,” says a domestic HRC trader.
Initial Indian HRC quotes to the Gulf Cooperation Council were heard at $1,130-1,140/t cfr Dammam, equating to $1,095-1,100/t fob India; however, no deals were concluded. Mills have refrained from offering to Vietnam, Nepal or Turkey this week.
In the coming days, Indian HRC exports will be impacted by lower European demand, competition from China and rising semi-finished steel imports by Europe from China. Mills are reportedly indicating high offers, but in reality they are more focused on shipping existing contracts before the fiscal year ends, to book profit on their accounts.
Owing to lockdowns in China, coking coal prices have started to drop, ultimately reducing the cost of production. The rupee has appreciated against the dollar, resulting in narrowed gross realisations. The prevailing sentiment will likely see export offers forced down in the future.
Source:Kallanish
