Even though ex-China and ex-India hot rolled coil (HRC) offers are lower than in the previous week, buyers in the GCC have shown no interest, instead keeping an eye on the market as the downward trend persists. In the meantime, buyers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia who have needed to restock have expressed interest and purchased certain quantities of ex-Japan material.
According to reports, in previous weeks Emirati and Saudi buyers purchased 15,000 mt and 20,000 mt of HRC from Japanese suppliers for April shipment at $620/mt CFR and $630/mt CFR, respectively, while fresh offers from Japan have been at $620-630/mt CFR to the GCC for April shipment.
In contrast, due to the slow local market and futures price reductions, offerings in China have gone down. As a result, this week's offers to the UAE have ranged at $570-590/mt CFR for April shipment, down from $590-600/mt CFR before.
A comparable softening has been seen in ex-India prices. The larger Indian mills are trying to keep their prices at high levels, while other mills may adapt to the downward trend to conclude sales. This week's ex-India offers to the UAE are reported at $615-635/mt CFR, instead of $620-635/mt CFR.