Despite sluggish trading activity in Vietnam, Indian suppliers have succeeded in booking some volumes, supported by the most competitive pricing among foreign suppliers in the market. This has been further supported by the disappearance of cheap Chinese non-VAT offers due to export licensing requirements, and due to antidumping duties imposed against ex-China materials, which have strengthened the position of other foreign suppliers in Vietnam.
More specifically, while offers for ex-India HRC in Vietnam have remained at around $610-615/mt CFR levels, several deals are reported to have been signed for Indian HRC last week at the most competitive prices among all foreign suppliers in the market. In particular, in the middle of last week, a deal for around 20,000 mt of ex-India SS400 and SAE1006 HRC was signed at $585/mt CFR, for July shipment. Besides, another cargo of around 20,000 mt of ex-India SAE1006 HRC was booked at the end of last week at $588-590/mt CFR, according to sources.
It is worth mentioning that ex-India HRC deal prices for re-rolling grade have been the most competitive in Vietnam, where offers for SAE1006 HRC from other Asian suppliers like those from Indonesia have been voiced at $595-600/mt CFR and at around $630/mt CFR from Japan.
In the meantime, while almost no offers or bids have been reported for ex-China SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam, market insiders have kept reporting new deals signed for ex-China pickled and oiled coils, with a deal for around 10,000-15,000 mt reported to have been signed at the end of last week at $583/mt CFR, up by $5/mt week on week.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has settled at $590-610/mt CFR, down by $10/mt on the lower end of the range week on week, amid recent deals for ex-India HRC signed at discounts.