The price range in Vietnam’s import HRC market has continued to widen this week as some Chinese suppliers for mainly SS400 HRC have been offering their materials by around $60/mt lower on average than big Chinese mills and other foreign suppliers for SAE1006 HRC. Thus, only occasional deals have been reported this week for the materials with the most attractive prices.
This week, the price range for imported SAE1006 from different sources has been at $670-730/mt CFR Vietnam, according to reports from market sources. In particular, the lower end of the range corresponds to deal prices at $670-675/mt CFR for 20,000-25,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC reported at the beginning of the week, up by $5-10/mt week on week. Meanwhile, although most Vietnamese buyers’ bids are still heard at $670/mt CFR levels, most offers for ex-China materials have been reported at above $680/mt CFR, while one of the major Chinese mills, Baosteel, has announced its offer to Vietnam at as high as $723/mt CFR.
At the same time, offers for ex-China SS400 HRC have increased to $640/mt CFR and above for end of March-beginning of April shipments, versus $610-615/mt CFR at the beginning of last week and to $625/mt CFR at the end of last week. According to sources, some buyers are still looking for materials at $630/mt CFR. “The gap between offers is too big this week, so there is a lot of confusion in the market regarding the current situation and also the future trend,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, offers from other foreign suppliers have remained extremely rare in Vietnam. Ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC has settled at $730/mt CFR for April shipment, up by around $30/mt over the past week. Besides, no allocations have been offered by Indian suppliers, while the indicative prices for ex-India SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $720/mt CFR and above. Furthermore, no offers for ex-Taiwan coils have been heard in Vietnam this week.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $670-680/mt CFR, compared to $670/mt CFR last week given the bullishness mounting among all foreign suppliers.
