On September 15, Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS) announced that local prices for HRC for November deliveries will be stable compared to last month. Although local HRC demand has remained weak, the move has been awaited in the market considering the recent recovery of HRC import prices along with stable prices from Baosteel for October.
Formosa Ha Tinh’s prices for re-rolling grade SAE1006 (non-skin passed) to local customers have remained mainly at $610/mt CFR, while prices for skin-passed SAE1006 coils at around $620/mt CFR. The decision to roll over the prices was mainly based on the workable import HRC offers, which over the past week have increased from $590-600/mt CFR to $610/mt CFR and above.
The Vietnamese producers’ decision has also been supported by the announcement of leading Chinese mill Baosteel to keep stable local flat steel prices, including HRC.