The situation has remained broadly stable in Vietnam’s HRC import market in the past week, with only some price corrections seen for ex-China materials, while other foreign suppliers have kept their offers stable at high levels. Meanwhile trading activities have remained limited due to weaker demand coupled with numerous production cuts across the country.
Accordingly, the prices available for ex-China SS400 HRC have been voiced at $535-540/mt CFR, compared to $530/mt CFR at the beginning of last week, and $545/mt CFR at the end of last week. Meanwhile, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have settled at $550-560/mt CFR, the same as last week. “The end of this week seems to be exciting as China has released about $160 billion to support real estate segments, and so HRC futures prices have increased again, after big declines this week, reaching RMB 3,850/mt today,” a representative of a Vietnamese mill told SteelOrbis.
At the same time, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been reported at $560/mt CFR, the same as last week, while suppliers from Taiwan have been offering their materials at $560-570/mt CFR, up by $10/mt on the higher end of the range week on week. Suppliers from India, who had been staying out of the Vietnamese market for a quite long time, have started to appear with new offers after the cancellation of export duties. “We heard the indicative ex-India prices at $560/mt CFR Vietnam,” a market source said.
“We expect HRC prices to remain stable and then to rise slightly in the next few months, but supply will continue to decrease sharply due to high production costs and the upcoming holidays,” a market insider stated.
The reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has come to $550-560/mt CFR, compared to $550/mt CFR last week, as most foreign suppliers, except those from China, are refusing to go below $560/mt CFR.