Indian hot and cold rolled coil exports to the EU continue to show weak activity, with prices unchanged week-on-week due to sluggish demand and limited allocation by Indian mills. The slowdown, further impacted by extended holidays following Labour Day, has led Indian mills to prioritize domestic sales for better profitability since April.
As of 6 May, India-origin hot rolled coil (HRC) offers stood at $650-660/tonne CFR Antwerp or Bilbao ports and $595-605/t FOB Mumbai for S235 grade, June/July shipment. Negotiations have brought prices down to $640/t CFR. In comparison, other Asian-origin HRC offers to the EU ranged between $570-580/t CFR, while southern EU domestic transaction prices were recorded at €630/t ($714/t) delivered last week.
India's second-quarter EU HRC safeguard quota balance stands at 773,769 tonnes, with 548,750 tonnes transferred from Q1. As of 5 May, the entire quota remained available. CRC offers saw a $10/t increase week-on-week to $750-760/t CFR Antwerp or $690-700/t FOB India for DC01 grade, June/July shipment. The CRC category 2 safeguard quota balance is at 93% availability.
Indian-origin hot-dip galvanized coil prices dropped by $10-15/t week-on-week to $830-840/t CFR Antwerp or $775-785/t FOB Mumbai for 1mm BX51 or Z275 grade, June/July shipment. Pre-painted GI offers fell by $10/t to $1,030-1,040/t CFR Antwerp or $975-985/t FOB Mumbai for 0.5mm Z140 grade.
The EU metal coated category 4A safeguard quota for India was exhausted as of 21 April, while the 4B quota remains 91% available. The organic coated category 5 quota was depleted by 14 April. No new Indian coil export offers have been reported for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market this week.
