France: Offers down to ?198/mt FCA fail to elicit sales

摘要

Distributors in France report that offers are freely available for summer fill in a ?198-202/mt FCA range in the French Bay, but buying interest is subdued, even at the low end. Bids/indications of interest are suggested no higher than ?194/mt FCA. A ?194/mt FCA reflects about $204/mt CIF at the current $1.11/? exchange rate with no provisions for financing, transaction costs and a margin to a supplier. This in turn suggests that cover would need to be available from North Africa well below $190/mt FOB to render sales marginally profitable.