Most global hot rolled coil (HRC) suppliers have continued to correct their offers in a downward direction this week, while the majority of outlets have been silent in terms of import purchases. Although HRC futures prices in China showed some revival in the middle of this week, Chinese suppliers have been forced to lower their export offers, which has affected other Asian suppliers. The mood in Europe has continued to worsen as well, with tradable prices losing at least €10/mt over the past week, while import trade has been minimal amid long delivery times and safeguard quota issues. Meanwhile, in Turkey, flats prices have kept falling due to depressed market conditions.
Chinese HRC exporters, including both mills and traders, have remained rather negative in terms of prices “at least for now” as demand has remained sluggish in the main trade destinations. Export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC given by major Chinese mills have settled at $565-585/mt FOB, with a midpoint at $575/mt FOB, down by $15/mt week on week. The tradable level for SS400 HRC from Chinese suppliers has been estimated at $540-550/mt FOB, against $545-560/mt FOB at the beginning of last week. Offers for ex-China SS400 HRC in Vietnam have been heard at $550-555/mt CFR, down by $5/mt week on week, while offers Q195/SS400 HRC in the Middle East have been heard at $590-600/mt CFR, mainly the same as last week. At the same time, ex-China offers in Turkey have been voiced at $580-590 CFR from non-VAT traders mainly, down by $5-15/mt week on week.
Ex-India HRC prices have rolled back to the levels reported two weeks ago, though trade activity has fallen almost silent following the wide bid-offer disparities and with buyers expecting further declines as more ex-China offers are submitted to major destinations at lower prices, post-holiday. Specifically, ex-India HRC prices have settled at $580-650/mt FOB, rolling back to the levels reported two weeks ago, and down by $20/mt on the lower end of the range week on week. Ex-India HRC indicative prices in Asia have been reported at $590-600/mt FOB, as well as in Bangladesh and Nepal, while offers in the Middle East have been estimated at around $600-610/mt FOB. According to sources, with bids coming in at below $600/mt CFR from Vietnam and at $600-620/mt CFR from the Gulf region, down by $10-30/mt week on week, Indian mills have stayed away from concluding deals, leading to silent trade conditions. Offers for ex-India HRC in the EU have been estimated at $695-700/mt CFR, which translates to around $645-650/mt FOB. However, only occasional deals for small tonnages through traders have been reported, while most sources claim that the majority of EU buyers are not showing much interest in imports following declines in local prices.
In Vietnam, local producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) has started to provide additional discounts of around $10/mt for big local buyers. In particular, for 10,000-20,000 mt orders, FHS’s new price stands at $602/mt CIF, while for big orders of above 20,000 mt the price is at $598/mt CIF. Meanwhile, prices for smaller volumes have remained at the same level as initially announced last week, or at $608-620/mt CIF, depending on the quality of HRC. At the same time, following the weakening in Vietnam’s HRC import market last week this week import HRC prices have continued to plunge. Offers for ex-China SS400 HRC in Vietnam have been heard at $550-555/mt CFR, down by $5/mt week on week, while offers for Q195 HRC have stood at $545-548/mt CFR levels, following several deals signed a few days ago at $538-545/mt CFR. Firm offers for SAE1006 HRC have been rare in Vietnam, with indicative offers for ex-China coils estimated at $585-590/mt CFR for April shipment, down by $5/mt week on week, while most bids have been estimated at below $580/mt CFR. Other suppliers have been staying out of the Vietnamese market, with indicative prices for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC heard at $620/mt CFR, while offers from India have remained at $615-620/mt CFR, the same as last week. The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $585-590/mt CFR, down by $5-10/mt week on week, based on the indicative offers for ex-China HRC.
In Europe, while mills, especially those in northern Europe, have mainly been refraining from giving firm offers, tradable prices have decreased once again by more than €10/mt over the past week. At the same time, European HRC customers have remained largely inactive, expecting local producers to decrease their prices further for May delivery. HRC prices from mills in northern Europe have been rare this week, with the indicative prices remaining at €730-760/mt ex-works, while offers from Italian mills have been estimated at €725-730/mt ex-works for April-May delivery, down by €5/mt week on week. The tradable prices, however, have been voiced at €720/mt ex-works for April-May delivery in northern Europe, down by €10/mt on the higher end of the range week on week, while in Italy workable prices have been reported at around €705-715/mt ex-works levels, against €720-725/mt ex-works last week. Meanwhile, trade activity in the import segment has been minimal this week, with most offers from Asian suppliers heard at €620-650/mt CFR southern Europe, down by €10/mt on the higher end of the range week on week.
HRC prices in Turkey have decreased over the past week, mainly due to the continuing negative sentiment in the scrap segment, the lack of buying both locally and abroad, and also due to pessimistic expectations regarding China. As a result, domestic HRC offers in Turkey have settled at $675-695/mt ex-works by the end of the week, versus $690-715/mt ex-works seen previously. Moreover, most sources believe additional small discounts may be applicable for some serious orders. As for exports, offers are at $660-670/mt FOB and above, while bids from EU customers are not above $620/mt FOB. Import offers have dropped by $10-15/mt over the past week to $580-590/mt CFR from China, though the price is rather indicative since there is nobody interested in purchases. Prices are expected to fall a bit more and the bottom may be seen at $560-565/mt CFR or slightly higher than that. India is in the market with $650/mt CFR, South Korea is offering at $680/mt CFR at the moment, and neither is considered workable. Egypt has been offering at $665-670/mt CFR, with no interest seen yet.
In the UAE, the slowing trend in the HRC import market and the sluggish end-user demand domestically have caused most Emirati clients to hesitate to make purchases. While imports into the UAE remain silent, offers from China have been received at $590-600/mt CFR, compared to $595-620/mt CFR in the previous week. But a few Chinese traders are offering, at about $580/mt CFR less than what is feasible. Meanwhile, as regards Indian suppliers, the same weakening has occurred, with offers settling at $600-620/mt CFR, down from $625-630/mt CFR the week before. In addition, Japan has begun giving offers to the UAE this week at roughly $630/mt CFR for April shipment.