Most buyers in the Vietnamese HRC market have been cautious this week with only rare deals for ex-China coils done. The prices in these contracts have indicated some slight increase, but still remain the lowest in the market and much below the previous local prices in Vietnam. End-users are waiting for the next move from domestic mills soon before increasing import bookings.
A deal for 20,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 was signed by a trader at around $815/mt CFR or $780/mt FOB for February shipment on Thursday this week. This price is $10/mt above a position cargo sold last week. For major January shipment HRC from small mills, the tradable price is still around $825/mt CFR or so. Buyers have been bidding at $810-815/mt CFR, but the number of inquiries has been limited.
“The market is uncertain and Vietnamese buyers are waiting for the next movements from local mills... Formosa might release a new price next week, I think there will be a drop of $20/mt,” a local trader said, adding that this week deals for re-rolling grade HRC have been very rare and only some small contracts for pipes have been done.
The latest offers for ex-Japan thin HRC have been at $840-850/mt CFR, but no significant booking has been reported even after such a visible price cut from the previous level of $890/mt CFR.
Indian mills have been cautious, with most of the mills still offering at not below $850/mt CFR. Even the deal last week at $835/mt CFR reported earlier as an exception has been assessed as “good” for the seller.
“Next week will be a sensitive time to see if the price will decrease,” a source said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has been stable compared to last week, at $815-835/mt CFR.