Late last week, Vietnamese HRC producer Formosa Ha Tinh announced new offer prices for August-September delivery to local and foreign customers, with its prices about $10/mt higher. On Monday, July 20, reports of deals in the local market and one contract to China have been heard in the market, which indicates that the new price level has been accepted by customers.
A deal for about 30,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC from Vietnam was concluded at $470/mt CFR China recently. Some sources said that the price was slightly lower. “This level is acceptable. There is no duty,” a source from China said. The contract was signed after deals for Indian coils at $450-455/mt CFR China, as SteelOrbis reported last week. There have been no new bookings for ex-India HRC to China, sources confirmed on Monday, and overall demand for imported coils has slowed down recently.
In the domestic market in Vietnam, sales by Formosa have been heard at $462-463/mt CFR for non skin-passed SAE1006 HRC for September delivery, in line with offers at $460-465/mt CFR announced last week.
Customers are interested in buying local HRC and have followed the price increase. Moreover, offers for imported coils have kept going up, supported by Formosa’s hike and by demand from China over the past two weeks. Indian mills have been offering at $465/mt CFR Vietnam minimum, and some of them have already announced offers at $475/mt CFR, sources have said. There has been a rumor of a booking at $455-460/mt CFR Vietnam from India last week, but this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. Sources in Vietnam have reported that Indian sellers are unlikely to negotiate at below $460/mt CFR now.