The second largest HRC producer in Vietnam, Hoa Phat Group, has announced its new prices for HRC for April and beyond deliveries to the local customers. The company has followed the announcement of Formosa Ha Tinh Steel which hiked its prices by $90/mt.
The new prices from Hoa Phat Group for SAE1006 HRC and SS400 HRC for April shipment and beyond have been settled at VND 18,900-19,000 ($828-832/mt) CIF, where the lower level corresponds to the price in the north, with the highest in the south. Current prices are $92-93/mt higher than last month.
This move by Hoa Phat has followed the $90/mt price increase by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel to $840/mt CFR for SAE1006 HRC (non-skin passed) announced earlier this week. However, most sources confirmed that the price increase of Hoa Phat Group is slightly lower than initially expected as the aggressive pricing by Chinese traders has impacted sentiments. In particular, in the import segment, the latest reference price for ex-China HRC for April shipment was at $840-850/mt CFR. But customers are also seeing low-priced position offers from traders who are offering at lower levels - at $825-830/mt CFR for SAE1006 HRC and even at $815/mt CFR for SS400 HRC. “Offers from Chinese traders are very attractive but the gap between local HRC offers and import offers from Indian and Japanese mills is huge, which means customers will focus on domestic purchases,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Offers for ex-Indian mills for SAE1006 HRC have been reported at $900-920/mt CFR, while coils from Japan have been offered at $950/mt CFR Vietnam.