Demand for imported HRC has weakened in Vietnam recently ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday and amid expectations of a possible further price decline. Chinese sellers have cut prices, seeing poor local conditions, adding to the negative trend.
At least two contracts have been reported for lots of 5,000-10,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC each at $670/mt CFR and $670-675/mt CFR, done last week. Most negotiations with large traders have been held at $670-685/mt CFR and some rare mills from north China have also been able to provide such price levels. This indicates a drop from the previous week’s position sale at $690/mt CFR Vietnam. Though big mills from China are still offering at higher levels, at $700-720/mt CFR for April shipment and much higher for May, these prices have not been attractive to importers in Vietnam. “Bids are not higher than $670/mt CFR,” a source said.
A Chinese trader has also sold a small lot of pipemaking SS400 HRC at $635/mt CFR, down by $10/mt from the previous booking of the same grade. Sources have said that such a price level has been assessed as being very low even for a position cargo in Vietnam, with most mills not in the mood to provide prices below $640/mt FOB so far.
Prices for re-rolling grade SAE1006 coils from suppliers other than from China are staying uncompetitive in the Vietnamese market. Offers from Nippon Steel have been heard at $800/mt CFR, while material from South Korea has been available at $770/mt CFR. Taiwanese exporters may sell re-rolling HRC at $760-770/mt CFR to Vietnam, with recent export demand heard as being “close to zero”. “Indian prices are definitely not going to work in Vietnam at the moment. China is much cheaper,” an international trader said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has dropped to $670-680/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $675/mt CFR, down by $30/mt on average from last week. Such a sharp drop is attributed to the fall of the higher end of the range, as most sources said that prices from mainstream mills (at above $700/mt CFR included in the range earlier) became unworkable and do not reflect the current market conditions.
