Import offers for hot rolled coil (HRC) in Vietnam have risen sharply this week, led by a significant increase in Chinese prices. Offers from Chinese suppliers have climbed by at least $15–20/mt compared to last week, driven by a strong rally in HRC futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The bullish sentiment in China, fueled by expectations of production cuts and rising raw material costs, has begun to spill over into the regional market, prompting Vietnamese buyers to reassess their import strategies amid growing uncertainty. Meanwhile, other suppliers have not been in a hurry to follow suit, raising their offers only slightly in response to the changing landscape.
More specifically, this week, ex-China 2,000 mm Q235 HRC offers, which are not targeted by antidumping (AD) duty, have been voiced at $486-488/mt CFR compared to $463-465/mt CFR at the beginning of last week. Besides, offers for ex-China 2,000 mm Q195 HRC have settled at $495/mt CFR, while offers for 2,000 mm Q235 HRC have been voiced at $500-503/mt CFR. Meanwhile, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $500-505/mt CFR, up by $15/mt week on week. Such an increase in ex-China offers is explained by the increase in HRC futures prices, which by July 23 have settled at RMB 3,438/mt ($481.5/mt), increasing by RMB 185/mt ($26/mt) since July 16, while increasing by 0.2 percent compared to the previous trading day, July 22.
Other foreign suppliers, however, have not been in a hurry to increase offers even though they have less competition with Chinese SAE1006 HRC suppliers due to AD duty. According to sources, a deal for ex-South Korea SAE1006 HRC for around 20,000 mt in total was booked to Vietnam at $487-490/mt CFR last week, while most offers have settled at $500-510/mt CFR this week, mainly for October shipment. Besides, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $510-515/mt CFR, the same as last week.
Furthermore, offers for ex-Indonesia SAE1006/SS400 HRC have been voiced at around $505/mt CFR, versus $490-500/mt CFR.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has moved to $500-505/mt CFR, from $485-500/mt CFR last week.
At the same time, according to sources, interest in domestic HRC has remained high with offers from local producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel standing at $497-507/mt CIF levels, depending on the order size. According to sources, faced with higher import offers and longer delivery times, Vietnamese buyers are increasingly turning to domestic sources due to relatively better pricing.