Trading in Vietnam’s import HRC market eased again by the end of September and a number of sources have decided to take a pause before offering December shipment material. Though overall bids and the mood of customers has remained weak so far, expectations for a rebound after the Chinese holiday have started to emerge.
After sales of 100,000 mt of ex-Russia HRC to Vietnam at $850/mt CFR, some additional tonnage of 30,000 mt has been rumored as having been negotiated at the same price level. But the signing of an additional deal with Russian suppliers has not been confirmed and some sources said that allocation has been used up for now. No fresh offers for December shipment have been heard so far.
Offers for ex-India HRC have been reported at $860-890/mt CFR to Vietnam over the past week, where the lower end of the range corresponds to the offer for SS400 HRC from the state-owned steel producer, while most offers for SAE1006 are closer to the higher end of the range. “I doubt anyone bought [SS400] at $860/mt CFR,” a source said, pointing out that bids are still very low in Vietnam due to little improvement in end-user demand so far.
Some traders have been inviting bids for ex-India SAE1006 HRC at $870-880/mt CFR, but have failed to sign any contracts, sources have said. At the same time, Indian “mills are not giving below $880/mt CFR,” a source from India said, as demand in the local market has started to revive.
“The market is waiting for the Chinese to come back. If prices in China rebound, this may push up prices here as well,” a local source in Vietnam said. In addition, the higher production costs of local HRC producers in the country may also push up prices slightly this month.
As for now, the SteelOrbis’ reference price for import SAE1006 HRC price in Vietnam is still at $870/mt CFR, stable from the previous week.