The second largest HRC producer in Vietnam, Hoa Phat Group, has announced a downward revision of its prices for HRC for deliveries in July and beyond to attract local customers. This move was not expected by Vietnamese customers, considering the slight recovery in ex-China HRC quotations, but is mainly connected to poor buying in the country due to the start of the rainy season.
More specifically, on June 1, Hoa Phat Group decreased its prices for SAE1006 and SS400 HRC for shipment in July and beyond to VND 17,800-18,000/mt ($767-775/mt) CIF, compared to VND 18,300-18,400/mt ($780-795/mt) CIF announced earlier on May 22. “This is unexpected considering that Chinese coils show some recovery, but could be explained by very low demand in the local market,” a representative of the Vietnamese mill told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, this week has brought a slight price increase in Vietnam’s HRC import market amid the recovery in domestic and futures prices in China. However, Vietnamese importers are mostly just evaluating the situation for now and plan to resume purchases when the trend becomes clear. In particular, Chinese traders, who offered SS400 HRC at $730-740/mt CFR last week, have increased their offers to $745-750/mt CFR. Meanwhile, Vietnamese buyers have reported offers for ex-China SEA1006 HRC at $760-775/mt CFR, compared to $755-760/mt CFR last week. No deals have been heard so far as most bids are still heard at $740/mt CFR for SS400 HRC and at $750/mt CFR for SAE1006 coils.
Other foreign suppliers like those from India, Japan and Taiwan have continued to stay out of the Vietnamese market. However, there is talk in the market about a deal for 30,000 mt of ex-India HRC signed at $745-750/mt CFR, but this information was not confirmed by the time of publication. The indicative offers for ex-Japan and ex-Taiwan HRC have been heard at $795-820/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis’ reference for import SAE1006 has moved to $760-770/mt CFR, up by $5-10/mt week on week, considering the recent offers coming from China.