Vietnamese customers have been showing very limited interest in HRC imports over the past week and bids have fallen further. Negative expectations, lower finished steel consumption and sluggish export orders have been behind the trend.
Accordingly, the prices available for ex-China position SAE1006 HRC have been as low as $670-680/mt CFR Vietnam, compared to $705-715/mt CFR last week. Besides, offers for ex-China SS400 HRC have been reported at $650-660/mt CFR Vietnam, down by $25-30/mt over the past week, while customers’ bids have already been voiced at $630-635/mt CFR. “We heard there were a few bookings at around $640/mt CFR this week, but most buyers expect to buy at lower prices,” a Vietnam-based trader told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, Indian suppliers who were offering boron-added HRC at $675-695/mt CFR last week, and, according to market sources, sold around 60,000 mt of HRC at $670-680/mt CFR, this week have decreased their offers to $665-675/mt CFR.
“Negative sentiment has persisted, pushing prices down further this week, but Vietnamese customers are refraining from purchases, waiting for Formosa’s domestic price announcement, though trade activity is unlikely to recover much after the local price announcements,” a market insider stated.
At the same time, Russian HRC suppliers have announced their offers to Vietnamese buyers at $610/mt CFR, down by $30/mt week on week. However, despite the attractive price, no deals have been heard due to payment problems. For HRC of Japanese origin, the price has been too high for Vietnamese customers, standing at around $690/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis’ reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has been lowered to $665-680/mt CFR, down by $10-30/mt from $675-710/mt CFR on the higher end of last week’s price range, based on higher Chinese offers.
