India coil export freight rises, GCC offers suspended
Release Date:
2026-03-09
Indian hot and cold rolled coil export offers to Europe have increased marginally, by $2-5/tonne week-on-week, while freight costs surged nearly 20% amid higher crude oil prices and escalating tensions linked to the Israel-US-Iran conflict, sources tell Kallanish.
Indian HRC offers rose by $2-5/t on-week to $620-630/t cfr Antwerp. Freight has increased to about $75/t from around $60/t last week. This equates to $545-555/t fob Mumbai for S235 grade, April shipment.
Some deals were heard this week despite weak buyer sentiment and the ongoing EU safeguard quota, CBAM and anti-dumping risks. Sources say Indian exporters may book around 30,000-40,000 tonnes for March-April shipment, likely to clear EU Customs by the second quarter.
One India-EU HRC deal was heard booked last week at $615-620/t cfr Antwerp for about 30,000t, April shipment. The EU’s category 1A HRC safeguard quota for India was exhausted in January, according to TARIC data.
CRC exports remain cautious due to the European Commission’s ongoing anti-dumping investigation on Indian CRC.
However, a CRC deal for about 6,000t was heard at $765/t cfr Bilbao, or $690/t fob Mumbai, not including a 5-8% premium for potential duties, as per one source. This is a $5-10/t increase from offers heard over two weeks ago. The CRC quota remained 65% available as of 2 March.
For coated products, hot-dip galvanised coil offers increased by $15-20/t w-o-w to $860-865/t cfr Antwerp. Pre-painted galvanised coil maintains a premium of around $200-220/t over HDG. However, CBAM compliance costs continue to undermine the viability of coated exports from India. Hot rolled plate offers from India increased by $10-15/t to $690-730/t cfr Antwerp.
Metal-coated category 4A quota was 62% available, category 4B stood at 87%, while the organic-coated quota was exhausted.
In Southeast Asia, India-origin HRC offers were heard at $493-500/t cfr Ho Chi Minh City for SAE1006 2mm+ material. Freight, previously $10-15/t, is estimated to have increased by around 15-20%, implying $480-485/t fob Mumbai.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council, no fresh offers were heard this week as Indian mills paused offers amid the Strait of Hormuz shipping disruption. Before the latest escalation, a re-roller booked 25,000t of Indian HRC at $505-510/t cfr Abu Dhabi for end-March shipment.
“Booking with any origin will face the same shipping complications through the Strait of Hormuz. No new bookings [are happening], everything is suspended and freight is unavailable,” a trader says.
Last week, India-UAE freight costs were about $20-25/t, but current levels remain unclear due to suspended bookings and possible shipment diversions.
Near-term export sentiment remains opportunity based as India continues to favour the domestic market (see separate story). Exports are expected to be tilted towards Europe and Southeast Asia for the time being, with India also exploring alternate markets such as the UK and other regions. Market participants are seen adopting a wait-and-watch approach.
From: Kallanish
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