Last week, a GCC pipe producer placed a priority order of 20,000-21,000 tonnes of HRC from an Indian supplier at prices in the range of $635-640 per tonne for February shipment; the remainder was booked for March loading from a Chinese world-class facility at $615-$620 per tonne.
This week, initial offers from China's leading mills are at $615 per tonne for 3mm base grade (S235JR/SS400) and $630-635 per tonne for 2mm SAE1006 grade for March/April shipment. Some factories have sold out for the month of March and have started to offer ready to load by April. A large Chinese company still keeps its 1.2 mm SPHT-1 grade offer from its ESP line at $658-660 per ton.
It is heard that the first offers for Far East - Japan, Taiwan - 2 mm SAE 1006 quality are in the range of $ 645-660 per ton for April shipment, while the Indian product is at $ 640.
"The market is quite quiet. There is only a small amount of demand, the purchasing interest has decreased. Domestic inventory levels for finished products, including HRC, are low, but domestic demand in China is also not encouraging. Despite sellers' uneasiness, buyers are "I believe that Chinese hot rolled coil prices will not increase after the Chinese New Year holiday like last year," he said.
The increase in HRC prices in China has started to slow down buyers in the Middle East. China is one of the largest HRC suppliers in the Middle East. Rising prices in China could force buyers in the Middle East to pay higher prices. This could lead to cost increases in construction, manufacturing and other sectors in the Middle East.
Buyers in the Middle East may turn to alternative suppliers if prices in China continue to rise. This may create new opportunities for iron and steel producers in the Far East and Europe.
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