In the last week of the year, most global hot rolled coil (HRC) suppliers decided to further increase their prices given better demand in many regions. Specifically, in Asia, the pessimistic mood in China has changed to a positive mood again and, as a result, Chinese suppliers succeeded in new numerous sales to Vietnam at higher price levels given the better demand in the country. Just like China, Indian HRC exporters have concluded several deals at higher prices as well, to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia in particular. In Turkey, local mills decided to increase their offers, and at the same time, there has been more interest in imported materials, especially ex-Russia HRC. By the end of the week, most global HRC suppliers have been stepping back from active offering, though many are expecting to return with higher offers at the beginning of the next year.
HRC prices in Turkey as per the official offers have been standing at $680-710/mt ex-works base, up from the small and medium-sized lots sold at $665-680/mt ex-works during the past 10-15 days. While domestic demand has been moderate, rather lively interest has been seen in the import HRC segment. This week, two 30,000-35,000 mt HRC lots were booked from a sanctioned Russian mill at $610/mt CFR. Another Russia-based mill, according to sources, has not been offering actively this week, but the expected indicative level is at $640/mt CFR minimum. Ex-Asia suppliers are in the market with rare offers, since most of them have decided to pull back due the approaching holidays, while last week the lowest price, according to sources, were at $630/mt CFR from Indonesia. This week, India has been offering at $650-660/mt CFR, while China has been offering large lots at $640-645/mt CFR for SAE1006 and $630-635/mt CFR for Q195.
This week, most big Chinese steel producers have kept their HRC prices mainly unchanged despite rises in the futures market, with export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC given by major Chinese mills standing at $590-600/mt FOB, the same as last week, while several big producers have continued to maintain their offers at $610/mt FOB. However, traders who had dropped their offers at the beginning of last week have decided to go higher. As a result, the tradable level for ex-China HRC has improved slightly to $575-590/mt FOB, up by $5-10/mt week on week. Offers for SS400 coils to Vietnam have increased to $590-600/mt CFR, versus $580-585/mt CFR at the beginning of last week, though several deals for ex-China materials have been reported at $585/mt CFR this week. In the SAE HRC segment, Chinese suppliers have been offering to Vietnam at $615-620/mt CFR, the same as last week, with numerous deals reported at the levels in question. Chinese suppliers have also reported offers for SAE1006 HRC to Turkey at $640-660/mt CFR, depending on quantity, though without success as the Russians are more aggressive there. Furthermore, a deal for ex-China 1.2mm HRC was reported at $650/mt CFR UAE at the end of last week. Domestic HRC prices in China are at RMB 4,000-4,120/mt ($574-592/mt) ex-warehouse on December 29, the same as recorded on December 23, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
In Vietnam, after weeks of silence more deals for import HRC have been reported this week amid better demand in the country. Accordingly, after a deal for around 5,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC was signed at the beginning of the week at $600-605/mt CFR Vietnam, market insiders have reported about 30,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC sold at $600/mt FOB (around $610-613/mt CFR Vietnam) by the middle of the week. Besides, according to sources, several small deals for ex-China coils have already been signed at $620/mt CFR. Meanwhile, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $630/mt CFR. Offers from India have been heard at $620-630/mt CFR, with a deal for around 15,000/mt reported at $620/mt CFR this week, though this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. Thus, the reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has moved up to $610-620/mt CFR, compared to $600-610/mt CFR last week. At the same time, HRC exports have been rebounding as well, as both Formosa Ha Tinh Steel and Hoa Phat Group have managed to secure at least 40,000 mt of HRC over the past two weeks.
This week, Indian HRC exporters succeeded in achieving another increase in the workable prices levels as they concluded several deals. Particularly, a 25,000 mt HRC cargo was sold to a Middle East-based trader at $598/mt FOB, while another 30,000 mt cargo was booked to the UAE at $605/mt FOB or $610-620/mt CFR, which is a $20-30/mt rise compared to earlier in December. In addition, up to 10,000 mt of HRC ex-India were booked to Nigeria at $595/mt FOB, while a 15,000 mt trade with a Singapore-based trader was reported at $600/mt FOB, most probably for the Vietnamese market. At the same time, as the year is about to end, more Indian suppliers have been stepping back from active offering to the global markets. It is generally believed that they will be back with higher offers next month, while trade for March shipments has already started. For this week, the reference price for ex-India HRC stands at $595-610/mt FOB, up by $5-20/mt from the previous week.
