MUMBAI: A 24,000-tonne cargo shipment of Russian-origin hot rolled steel coil arrived in Mumbai on Saturday, 23rd July on the Akson Serin Bulk Carrier, according to sources.
It was the first cargo of Russian-origin hot rolled coil (HRC) since Western sanctions were imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine.
Severstal, a Russian steel industry company, might be the HRC supplier and the deal is settled either in Emirati dirhams or China’s yuan, according to the sources.
“This is a loss-making deal [for the Indian buyer] as I am sure the contract price for this deal would have been higher than current Indian domestic quotes. We believe some 80,000 tonnes of HRC are also in transit from Russia for August and September deliveries,” an Indian trading source said.
In early August, India might receive another HRC vessel from South Korea and the price might be USD 670 per tonne.
Several Indian steelmakers increased their HRC prices in order to exploit the resulting gap left by the disruption in CIS supply after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
A recent decision taken by the Reserve Bank of India allows import payment settlement in rupees and as a result, it has alleviated obstacles for the Russian and Iranian ferrous suppliers to India.
According to source, Russia and Iran try to export more steel to India at cheaper prices resulting in a reverse of India’s net steel exporter status.
