After skipping its official announcement of local HRC prices in October, the second largest HRC producer in Vietnam, Hoa Phat Group, announced its new prices for HRC for deliveries in January to local customers on November 19. The new prices of the company are the most attractive in the market and more competitive than the prices of Formosa Ha Tinh Steel and those from all foreign suppliers, though the HRC volumes offered by the producer are quite limited given the recent shutdown of its blast furnaces, according to sources.
The new prices from Hoa Phat Group for SAE1006 and SS400 HRC for shipment in January have been settled at VND 13,450-13,530/mt ($540-545/mt) CIF, where the lower level corresponds to the prices in the north, with the highest level in the south.
This move by Hoa Phat Group has followed the announcement of new HRC prices by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel last week. However, the current domestic prices of Hoa Phat Group are more competitive than those of Formosa by $10/mt and more attractive than import prices considering that the latest offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at around $560/mt, compared to $555-560/mt CFR last week, while offers for SS400 HRC have settled at $545/mt CFR, up by $5-10/mt week on week. Offers for ex-Taiwan SAE1006 HRC have been heard at $560/mt CFR, the same as last week, while suppliers from Japan have been staying out of the Vietnamese market.
“Hoa Phat is back in the game, since its price is $5-10/mt lower than Formosa’s price, but their volumes should be limited given the BF shutdowns and supply is in a bit of a shortage now. No mill wants to sell a large quantity to get more losses,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.