Production losses at major Indian mills have resulted in limited hot rolled coil allocations for September shipments, which has further narrowed the scope of selling at low prices in the export market.

Furthermore, owing to government-backed pipeline projects, demand and consumption of structural-grade HRC have risen significantly in India, which has strengthened Indian mills’ position among global competition.

Sellers claim they are not in a panic about HRC sales, mainly because of strong domestic demand. As a result, the majority of mills are holding back their export offers, sources tell Kallanish.

"Indian mills have limited allocations and they would want to sell in the niche market of Europe," a source says. "Currently, no other origin is offering September shipment except India. Notably, the Chinese market is recovering, and [buyers in] Europe will resume their purchases in late August; this will create an opportunity for India to place its products at the desired prices."

Speaking about the current market, the source adds: "India is pushing for galvanised product sales, followed by cold rolled coil. HRC has become the least desirable item for them to offer in the export market."

According to sources, no firm offers have surfaced for the structural grade HRC offered by Indian mills to European buyers. However, some market participants inform that a few small-tonnage deals were rumoured to be concluded at $670-680/tonne cfr Antwerp, Italy and Spain.

Meanwhile, soft indications for 2-meter wide HRC were noted at $720-740/t cfr Antwerp by Indian mills; however, no firm bookings were heard.

Indian mills have scaled up exports of galvanized coil and pre-painted galvanised iron coils (PPGI) to Europe. According to sources, deals for Z100 0.5mm thickness and 904-1,250mm width GI were concluded at $860-870/t cfr Bilbao.

Deals for 1.35-1.5mm PPGI were concluded at $950-975/t cfr Europe last week. Indian mills’ offers for DC01-grade CRC were noted at $755-760/t cfr Antwerp.

No Indian mills are offering re-rolling-grade HRC in the Gulf Cooperation Council market. Very limited Indian supply of structural-grade HRC is seen in the region, aiming to fetch deals at $615-620/t cfr GCC. However, no bookings were heard concluding this week.

Meanwhile, an Indian mill is reported to have floated offers for re-rollable-grade HRC at $615-620/t cfr Vietnam. However, amid the availability of cheaper HRC from China, buyers have refrained from booking Indian HRC.

In the Indian domestic market, retail E250 grade offers were heard at INR 55,500-56,000/t ($674.20). Last week, a few mills raised their E250 HRC offers by INR 500/t, whereas multiple market participants expect Indian mills to raise their domestic HRC quotes in the coming days by INR 1,000/t.