Asian hot rolled coil (HRC) importers have been focusing on purchases of Russian and Indian material recently due to the flexible price policy of exporters. However, this week there have been reports of offers from Brazil at relatively competitive prices in Vietnam. The major Brazilian producer has offered SAE 1006 HRC at $440/mt CFR Vietnam for December shipment, as traders told SteelOrbis on Thursday, October 3.
This level is in line with ex-India prices and just slightly higher compared to offers for big coils at $435/mt CFR from Russia, also for December shipment.
Though bids from Vietnamese buyers started to come at $430-435/mt CFR following the recent further price decrease, Brazilian HRC can attract some demand in the near future, sources believe.
Moreover, there is a rumor in the market that a cargo of Brazilian HRC of 40,000 mt has been sold to Taiwan at $445-450/mt CFR.