Following the conclusion of deals last week in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Turkey and Nepal, bids for Indian hot rolled coil have plunged this week, multiple sources confirm to Kallanish.

The deal closures in the GCC and Turkey fulfilled expectations of Indian material commanding a premium over other regions for shorter lead times.

According to sources, two separate deals for 30,000 tonnes each of Indian-origin A36 grade HRC concluded on Thursday and Friday respectively at $578-583/tonne cfr GCC and $582-590/t cfr Turkey, netting back to $550-555/t fob India.

This week, bids for boron-added 2mm+ structural grade HRC plunged $20-30/t on-week to $560-565/t cfr GCC, equating to $525-530/t fob India for December shipment. Indian sources inform of floating offers at $585-590/t cfr levels, against bids at $560-565/t cfr. No deals were heard concluding this week so far.

Current indications to Turkey are meanwhile heard at $580-590/t cfr Turkey. According to sources, the majority of Turkish buyers are mulling importing Russian material on the back of very-short-lead-timed deliveries, resulting in no Indian-origin bookings being reported.

Besides their domestic market, Indian mills are banking only on the GCC and Turkish markets, as well as Nepal, says a trading source. “A few deals were concluded on the back of shorter-lead delivery from India to GCC [and Turkey] and its proximity monopoly to Nepal.”

A deal for 10,000t of HRC to Nepal was heard concluding at INR 50,000/t ($614.43) cpt Raxual last week. Current offers are hovering at the same level.

Vietnam continues to remain a low priority for Indian HRC; most buyers in Ho Chi Minh City have reduced HRC intake. Indian mills believe their offers of $560/t fob are unable to compete with Chinese offers in Vietnam and thus no quotes were indicated to Vietnam this week.

Indian structural grade HRC offers to Europe are noted at $615-620/t cfr, against bids of around $570-580/t cfr Antwerp. Offers for boron-added DC-01 grade cold rolled coil are meanwhile heard at $720-730/t cfr Antwerp.

In the domestic Indian market, offers for E250-grade HRC remained stable on-week at INR 56,000/t ex-Mumbai. Quotes for E350 and GI are heard at INR 58,500-59,000/t and INR 64,500/t ex-Mumbai, respectively.

“Indian mills are analysing the domestic market and kept prices stable for the month,” informs a source. “We heard automotive sectors are also mulling to re-negotiate and lower their prices with mills, which will again drop sentiment among steelmakers.”

An Indian steel major meanwhile reportedly imported 40,000t of HRC from Japan at around $550-580/t cfr Mumbai. Current offers from Japan are noted at $565-570/t cfr Mumbai.