Though the mood in the HRC market in Asia has weakened somewhat this week following the declines seen in the Chinese HRC spot and futures markets and the drop in iron ore prices, on Friday, January 12, leading Vietnamese mill Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) has announced a further hike in its local prices - by $22-30/mt - even though last month it had already implemented a $35/mt increase.
FHS has increased offers for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC in the local market for March-April shipments by $22-30/mt from the previous month to $647-665/mt CIF. Skin-passed SAE1006 coils prices have settled at $652-670/mt CIF, moving up strongly from $630-643/mt CIF in December.
Market sources believe that the further hike in domestic prices by FHS is linked to the export market and not the local market, which has remained weak. For instance, Chinese SAE1006 HRC can be booked at $600/mt CFR, while Indian offers have returned at $625-635/mt CFR. At the same time, the latest CIF-based offers of FHS in Vietnam are in line with their FOB offers to some market destinations, like Europe, with exports playing a more important role for the producer than earlier.