The price range in Vietnam’s import HRC market has remained very wide this week as traders from China are still offering and selling some volumes at below $700/mt CFR, while all major mills in China and beyond have been asking visibly above this level.
This week, the price range for imported SAE1006 from different sources has been at $675-720/mt CFR Vietnam, according to reports from market sources. The lower end of the range - $675-680/mt CFR - corresponds to at least two deals from traders for position cargoes of Chinese SAE1006 with thickness 2.5 mm and above. Also, there have been reports about a sale of 20,000 mt SAE1006 HRC done by an Indian mill at $720/mt CFR Vietnam this week.
“Mills offers are still higher [than prices for position cargoes from traders]. I heard Chinese SAE1006 prices from mills at $730/mt CFR also recently,” a trader said. “All mills from China are offering over $700/mt CFR,” another source said. At the same time, offers from Chinese traders have been heard at $685-695/mt CFR Vietnam. As a result, most bids from customers in Vietnam have been at $680/mt CFR maximum, according to sources.
A slight increase in local HRC prices in China this week and higher iron ore prices have been supporting mills’ export offers. So the further price trend in the Vietnamese HRC market is still unclear.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has remained at last week’s level of $695-700/mt CFR, as this is an average between the lowest deal prices from Chinese traders and the higher tradable value from mills.
