Posted on 31 Jan 2024
The Gulf Cooperation Council hot rolled coil market is quiet ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, which starts on 9 February. Hints from Chinese mills and traders of a possible post-holiday price hike have yet to instigate buyers to book, notes Kallanish.
Last week, a GCC pipemaker booked 20,000-21,000 tonnes of HRC priority sizes from the Indian supplier at $635-640/tonne base for February shipment, with the remainder booked from the Chinese tier-one mill at $615-620/t for March load-readiness.
This week, initial offers from China's top tier mills are at $615/t for 3mm base grade (S235JR/SS400) and $630-635/t for 2mm SAE1006 grade for March/April shipment. Some mills are sold out for March and have started to offer April load-readiness. The Chinese major is still holding its 1.2mm SPHT-1 grade offer from its ESP line at $658-660/t for March shipment.
Far Eastern – Japan, Taiwan – 2mm SAE 1006 grade initial offers are heard at $645-660/t for April shipment, while Indian product is at $640/t.
All prices are based on cfr Sohar, Jebel Ali or Dammam ports.
The bloc's largest re-roller’s pending 25,000-tonne enquiry is yet to translate into a deal.
"The market is peculiarly quiet. Only a small volume of enquiries are there, but buying interest has faded. Domestic stock levels for finished products, including HRC, are low, but Chinese domestic demand is also not encouraging. Despite sellers' agitation, buyers believe Chinese HRC prices will not jump after the Chinese New Year holiday, which was the case last year," comments a reputable Chinese trader.
Source:Kallanish
