On June 13, Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) announced that its local prices for HRC, mainly for August shipment, will be $30/mt lower compared to prices initially announced last month and down by $15/mt since the last revision in late May. The producer has decided to decrease its prices given the rather negative sentiments for the flats market this month, and more pressure from import prices, for ex-China HRC in particular.
FHS’s prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC in the local market have settled at $565-575/mt CIF Vietnam ports, versus $595-605/mt CIF announced back last month, and down by $15/mt since the last price revision. Meanwhile, skin-passed SAE1006 HRC prices have been voiced at $570-580/mt CIF, down by $15/mt since late May.
According to sources, the situation in the main export markets and especially in the EU has been worsening not only in terms of demand but also due to the new safeguard measures announced last month. Thus, the producer has been looking for alternative markets, where export volumes could be redirected. Notably, this month, sizable volumes of HRC, at least 80,000 mt in total, were sold in India at $590-595/mt CFR. Meanwhile, offers for ex-Vietnam HRC in Europe have been heard at around $660/mt CFR, though, according to sources, “No one is interested if the customer has to pay a 25 percent duty”.
In the meantime, in the import HRC market in Vietnam, several deals for ex-China SS400/Q235 HRC have been reported at $528-530/mt CFR, while most offers have remained at $530-535/mt CFR, the same as last week. Most bids, however, have been voiced at $525/mt CFR level. Meanwhile, most offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC are still voiced at $555-560/mt CFR, though the tradable prices have moved down to $550-555/mt CFR. “We heard several bookings were done at $555/mt CFR, while given further drops in HRC futures prices in China, the market mood has been worsening,” a Vietnam’s trader said.
Offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at around $570/mt CFR level, down by $5/mt week on week, though no new deals have been reported so far.
