Indian Exporters Raise Offers For HRC To Europe

Earlier this month, Indian mills tried to raise HRC prices for European customers amid a weaker currency and positive sentiment in China. Meanwhile, prices in the Middle East remained stable.
Most offers for HRC (S235JR, 2mm) in India are at $570-620/t fob; the upper end of the range has risen by $20/t for the past two weeks.

The quotation in Europe is 660-670 US dollars / ton CFR, up 10-20 US dollars / ton within two weeks. Some small volumes are sold to Spain and Belgium at prices in the above range. An Indian trader told Metal Expert: “Indian mills seized the opportunity and booked some products at higher prices as Chinese offers increased. However, the flow of inquiries was not strong enough as domestic demand did not improve”. Export prices of HRC from Chinese steel mills rose in early June and stabilized in the second half of this month after falling continuously since late March. The rise was due to lower inventories at Chinese steel mills and traders as well as supportive measures from the Chinese government. Another driver of higher prices is the depreciation of the dollar against the euro. However, sentiment changed towards the end of the month as new measures were yet to be announced and unfavorable weather conditions impacted local steel demand. “Chinese traders lowered their prices, but mills remained stable. Let’s see what happens after the holidays (June 22-23),” a steel supplier noted.
In the UAE, Indian HRC offers are at $605-610/t CFR, up from $610/t CFR previously. Business and trade activity has been subdued due to the approach of the end-June holidays.
Indian domestic HRC demand is also weak. Since the end of May, Indian steel mills have lowered their June domestic prices by $46-49/ton. Local buyers

predict a drop in prices in early July.