Ex-China HRC offer prices have edged up amid insufficient supply and the appreciation of the Chinese currency. At the same time, local prices have been showing limited changes over the past week.
At present, export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC given by major Chinese mills are at $520-535/mt FOB for January shipment, moving up by $2.5/mt on average compared to late last week. The reference deal prices have been heard at $515/mt FOB, versus $510-515/mt FOB on Friday. Sources said that mills are not in hurry to sell now and can keep prices stable for some time in order to watch buyers’ reaction.
Buyers from Vietnam have been bidding for SS400 ex-China HRC at $522.5-525/mt CFR, in line with previous deals. But it is hard to find any offer below $528-530/mt CFR. A contract for 10,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC from one of the major Chinese mills was signed at $528/mt CFR last week. “Transaction activities decreased in Vietnam as there will be another round of floods hitting the central part of Vietnam, which has resulted in a prevailing wait-and-see stance among buyers in the overseas market,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, demand for HRC in the local market in China has been at relatively low levels, with cautious sentiments prevailing among market players. Inventory of HRC has not indicated any big change in the given period. Domestic HRC prices in China are at RMB 3,840-3,920/mt ($574-586/mt) ex-warehouse on October 27, with the average price level RMB 5/mt ($1/mt) higher as compared to October 20, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
As of October 27, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,812/mt ($570/mt), increasing by RMB 67/mt ($10.0/mt) or 1.8 percent since October 20.
$1 = RMB 6.6989