The leading HRC producer in Vietnam, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS), has been postponing the official announcement of its new HRC prices for domestic customers mainly due to the unclear market situation and the continuous fluctuations of import HRC prices.
According to some local sources in Vietnam, this month FHS has not announced any official offers for June shipment so far, though most estimate its “unofficial offers” at $520-522/mt CIF level, against $520-529/mt CIF announced in March. “There are no official prices from FHS, but some say they have been selling some volumes at $520/mt CFR,” a Vietnamese trader told SteelOrbis.
Notably, Vietnamese steel producer FHS has occasionally delayed announcing its HRC prices due to market uncertainties. These delays often reflect FHS' response to volatile market conditions and competitive pressures from imports.
As for import HRC prices, on Thursday, April 17, ex-China 2,000 mm Q235 HRC offers in Vietnam have settled at $468-470/mt CFR, against $472-475/mt CFR last week, while offers for 2,000 mm Q195 HRC have been reported at $475/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been heard at $485-490/mt CFR for end-of-June shipment. Besides, workable offers for SAE1006 HRC from Japan, South Korea and Indonesia have been estimated at $510/mt CFR. Thus, the SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has remained at $485-510/mt CFR, with the lower end of the range corresponding to the most competitive offers from China, while the higher end corresponds to the tradable price from other foreign suppliers.
