Prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) have been moving up in the Vietnamese market this week owing to fresh gains from Chinese suppliers, which reacted to their stronger currency, and some lower offer volumes of SAE1006 HRC following previous deals. At the same time, demand for SS400 HRC in Vietnam has increased.
The latest deals for imported coils in Vietnam have included up to three deals for SS400 HRC from China for 2,000-10,000 mt each at $520-525/mt CFR this week. One contract was signed at slightly below $520/mt CFR early this week, but at the moment this price level does not seem to reflect the market, sources have said. Last week, most bids for SS400 HRC from Vietnam were below $515/mt CFR.
At the same time, offer prices for SAE1006 HRC from China have reached $540/mt CFR in Vietnam on Thursday, while they were at $530-535/mt CFR earlier in the week. “It seems re-rolling grade is scarce, and hence the prices are higher [than usually] compared to SS400,” a trader said.
Offers for ex-Russia HRC have increased to $520/mt CFR Vietnam recently. This happened after - in addition to last week's reported sale for 30,000 mt - the same volume was traded close to the previous price level of $510/mt CFR.
An offer from one of Indian mills has been at $535-540/mt CFR this week.
At the same time, though Vietnamese buyers have been cautious in purchases, they have had to increase bids slightly. They have been willing to conclude deals for SAE1006 HRC at $525/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned. “Since FHS [Formosa Ha Tinh] is offering at $540/mt and can close at $535/mt, foreign suppliers are increasing prices,” a local source said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported HRC in Vietnam has increased by $5-10/mt on average from last week to $525-530/mt CFR.