Sentiments have been positive in Vietnam’s import HRC market this week and, though there have not been many deals recently, market sources believe that customers will have to accept some further price increase in the near future. Formosa Ha Tinh has been preparing to hike its offers for August delivery.
Offers for Indian HRC SAE1006 have been at $440-445/mt CFR Vietnam recently, while there have been no reports of new deals after small bookings at $430-435/mt CFR late last week. The tradable value for Indian coils is $435/mt CFR Vietnam or just slightly lower, a few suppliers have confirmed to SteelOrbis. Last week, Indian coils were traded at $427-435/mt CFR.
The last two contracts for Japanese and Taiwanese SAE1006 HRC have been at $440/mt CFR Vietnam late last week and early this week. Offers for August shipment from Japan and South Korea have been at $450/mt CFR in Vietnam.
No fresh offers have been heard from Russia, as Russian mills have limited export allocations and have focused on their domestic market or on sales to neighbouring destinations like Turkey.
Offer prices from China have been at $460/mt CFR and above, remaining uncompetitive.
“Now offers are getting higher. I am optimistic for the near future,” a Vietnam-based trader said.
Domestic HRC producer Formosa Ha Tinh stopped offering this week and plans to increase prices for August delivery by $15-20/mt, sources have said. “They might open new negotiations next week,” another trader said. Formosa Ha Tinh has announced offers at $435-440/mt CFR for SAE1006 grade skin-passed and not skin-passed for July, while discounts of $10-15/mt were available in late May.