China, the world’s biggest steelmaker, is considering importing hot-rolled coil on possible arbitrage opportunities with Russia and Iran, Fastmarkets understands.
Russian and Iranian hot-rolled coil imports may soon become an attractive prospect for Chinese buyers due to their low offers to the country, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday, October 9. “Russian re-rolling grade HRC is being offered at $430 per tonne CFR China this week, although the arbitrage window may not be big enough for now,” an eastern China-based trader told Fastmarkets. A northern China-based trader confirmed such offers and said Iranian sellers had already been offering HRC at similar levels two weeks ago. These offers are equivalent to $499 per tonne after including the 13% value-added tax and 3% import tax….
