Vietnamese HRC producer Hoa Phat Group has announced its new local HRC prices for September and October shipment, increasing them by around $30/mt from August. The decision has been made amid the recent recovery of import HRC prices in Vietnam, driven by the rise in Chinese prices.
More specifically, on August 1, Hoa Phat’s prices for SAE1006 and SS400 HRC for September and October shipment have been announced at VND 14,190-14,220/kg ($599-600/mt) CIF, where the lower level corresponds to the prices in northern and central Vietnam, with the higher price in the south. Thus, the current price is around $30/mt higher than last month.
According to sources, the new prices from Hoa Phat Group are in line with market expectations, though they are higher than offers from Chinese traders, who are offering their SS400 HRC at $575-585/mt CFR Vietnam, up by $10-15/mt week on week. “Asian HRC prices keep increasing not because of demand, as it is still low. Production costs of Vietnamese mills have been very high recently and they cannot afford to much loss month over month. So, they can reduce capacity and sell less tonnages at a better price,” a Vietnamese mill’s representative told SteelOrbis.
“The Vietnamese market is still very slow. In the upstream segment, prices keep rising while downstream consumers are very careful about booking new orders,” another source said.
At the same time, ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been reported at $590-600/mt CFR, up by $5-10/mt week on week. Other suppliers have remained out of the market, with the indicative offers for ex-Japan HRC standing at $620/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $590/mt CFR, from $580-585/mt CFR last week, given higher offers for ex-China materials.
