Posted on 01 Nov 2023
Driven by an increase in ocean freight rates and an improvement in sentiment in China following the announcement of government support, imported hot rolled coil prices from all origins in the GCC have increased by $5-15/tonne on-week, notes Kallanish.
This week, a Chinese tier-one mill offered 1.2mm thick SPHT-1 grade HRC from its ESP line at $625-630/t cfr, while from its regular line, 3mm base was at $590-595/t, for December shipment. Ex-China first-tier mills' offers for 2.75-3mm thick SAE 1006 HRC are pegged at $585-590/t, while Chinese prime brand 2mm SAE 1006 grade is at $600-610/t for December shipment.
On the other hand, prime quality 3mm SAE 1006 ex-Taiwan is around $591-592/t for January shipment.
A buyer received an offer from a Chinese trader for non-silicon controlled 3mm SAE 1006 grade HRC at $575-580/t cfr Abu Dhabi port for early-December shipment. Based on the price, the buyer assumes that Chinese traders have position cargoes with competitive prices to be dispatched at end-November and early-December.
Unless otherwise mentioned, all prices are on a cfr Dammam, Jebel Ali and Sohar ports basis.
The Japanese major mill has no allocation for January shipment for GCC buyers yet, but based on 3mm SAE 1006 grade fob prices, its cfr GCC ports price is expected to be hovering around $600/t cfr GCC ports. Next week, the mill is expected to surface with a quote.
The region's sole producer announced it has left its 3mm SPHC grade price unchanged from September at $720/t delivered for January deliveries. It had no allocation for December due to a maintenance shutdown. Therefore, it did not announce in October its December rolling quotes.
Source:Kallanish
