Following a short-lived increase, ex-Japan HRC export prices have decreased again and will stay under pressure in May due to mills’ high export allocations despite recent production cuts, sources told SteelOrbis.
A fresh deal from one of the Japanese mills has been heard at $405/mt CFR Vietnam, which corresponds to $385/mt FOB. Last week, a booking of 30,000 mt was at $410-415/mt CFR Vietnam. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, in the first half of April a deal to Vietnam was concluded at $398/mt CFR, which corresponds to $378/mt FOB and this level may soon be achieved again, according to sources.
Offers to other Southeast Asian countries have been at a high level as usual, but sales have been close to zero. Offers for Malaysia have been at $420-430/mt CFR ($390/mt FOB and slightly above).
Customers in Bangladesh have received offers from Japan at $410/mt CFR ($380-390/mt FOB), with mostly small tonnages traded.
Japanese suppliers are still offering for June shipment. Sources said that allocation for export at major mills has increased recently even despite production cuts, as local demand has dropped significantly. “Mills are trying to get as many [export] orders as possible now,” a trader told SteelOrbis. And at the same time, customers are more cautious and many traders are afraid importers may cancel already-signed deals.
