Posted on 16 Apr 2025
Suppliers in countries not subjected to anti-dumping practices in Europe and other lucrative markets offering better margins are disappearing from the Gulf Cooperation market. But competition remains from Chinese and Japanese flat steel producers.
GCC buyers have attempted to get offers for Taiwanese, Indian, Australian, and even Indonesian hot rolled coil; however, either prices were 5-10% higher than the lowest-available quotes, or there were no offers at all, Kallanish notes.
Last week, a re-roller’s enquiry resulted in a deal with a major Far Eastern supplier for 25,000 tonnes of multiple grades and thicknesses for shipment in June at around $505/tonne cfr base 2mm SAE 1006 grade. This equates to nearly $458-465/t fob Japan. Indian mills were not offering, there were no price indications from Indonesia, and the Taiwanese offer was at $550/t cfr for the same specifications.
There is another pending re-rolling grade enquiry for 16,000t, the overwhelming majority being SAE 1006 grade 2-3mm with a small portion of SAE 1021. This is expected to close this week as the initial prices from the major Japanese supplier average $515/t cfr, while Chinese tier-one prices are at $505-507/t cfr, all for June shipment. A top-tier Chinese supplier is quoting $525/t cfr for early-June shipment.
Pipemakers and stockists received ex-China tier-one offers for base 2.8mm this week at $490/t cfr, for June shipment, and for 1.2mm SPHT-1 grade at $540/t cfr for May load-readiness. The Saudi major, which kept its domestic market base 3mm price unchanged at $640/t delivered within the country for June rolling, is evaluating local demand and enquiries to see if it can allocate any quantities for export, primarily to Europe.
Local galvanized coil prices in United Arab Emirates are at around $760-770/t for 1mm Z120 and at $780-790/t for 1mm Z275, delivered within the country.
Source:Kallanish
