The global hot rolled coil (HRC) market has remained under pressure this week, with most regions seeing either stable or declining price trends amid muted demand and ongoing import competition. In China, export offers have declined despite a slight rebound in domestic prices, signalling weak overseas interest. Indian HRC prices held steady but have failed to attract buyers in major export markets, while domestic buyers have turned to imports, taking advantage of more competitive foreign offers. In Vietnam, Formosa has maintained its local HRC prices despite sluggish demand, while local buyers have secured sizable volumes from Malaysia. Turkey's HRC market has remained stable following the holiday, both in the domestic and import segments, while in the UAE trade activity has been minimal after the holiday, though Chinese export offers have shown a slight softening. Meanwhile, in Europe, demand has stayed muted and pressure from lower-priced imports has continued to weigh on domestic pricing.
Despite a slight uptick in average domestic HRC prices in China compared to last week, most Chinese mills have lowered their export offers further due to weak demand across key international markets. At the same time, tradable prices for ex-China SS400 HRC have been moving sideways in rare deals. Export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC from large Chinese mills have settled at $445-460/mt FOB, down by $5/mt on average week on week. Meanwhile, smaller mills have been offering their HRC at around $435-445/mt FOB, down by $5-10/mt week on week. In the meantime, the tradable price for ex-China SS400/Q235 HRC has been estimated at $435-445/mt FOB, the same as last week. As of June 13, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,082/mt ($428/mt), decreasing by RMB 13/mt ($2/mt) since Monday, June 9, and down by 0.26 percent compared to the previous trading day, June 12.
Ex-India HRC prices have been maintained stable, but offers have not been taken into any consideration in any of the key destinations at a time when sellers from most exporting countries have been aggressively cutting prices amid weak demand scenarios across geographies. Specifically, ex-India prices for the Middle East have remained unchanged at around $520/mt FOB when trade has been almost at a halt for the holiday. Besides, offers for Europe have been reported in the range of $560-570/mt FOB, versus $570/mt FOB last week, without any interest from buyers. According to sources, exports are expected to remain secondary in the sales strategies of most domestic steel producers, as their primary focus stays on the local market. Despite subdued demand from key consuming industries, Indian steelmakers continue to benefit from notably stronger pricing power at home compared to international markets.
In the meantime, the past week has brought a mild rebound in India’s imported HRC trade, where several transactions for South Korean and Japanese coils were struck at levels below the prevailing domestic quotes. SteelOrbis has learned that a deal for around 10,000 mt of ex-South Korea HRC was signed $520/mt CFR Chennai at the end of last week. Besides, according to sources, a few more deals are reported to have been signed at $500-505/mt CFR for ex-Japan HRC in India last week.
In Vietnam, although the general mood in the import HRC segment has been far from positive this week and local demand for steel in Vietnam has remained weak, Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS) has announced its new local HRC prices for July and August shipments at $507-517/mt CIF, depending on volume, mostly at the same levels as in May or only $1-3/mt lower.
In the import segment, however, at least 30,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC from Malaysia is reported to have been booked through a big Chinese trader to Vietnam at $492/mt CFR for August shipment. In the meantime, offers for SAE1006 HRC from other suppliers, including those from Japan and Indonesia, have been voiced at $490-495/mt CFR, down by $5/mt week on week. Offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $470-475/mt CFR, down by $5-10/mt week on week. However, according to market insiders, no interest in Chinese materials has been seen among Vietnamese buyers due to antidumping duty. Thus, SteelOrbis’ reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has moved to $470-495/mt CFR, against $490-505/mt CFR last week.