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 signs of the continued impact from the spread of Covid-19 have been behind the trend. At the same time, after the latest decrease in ex-India prices, suppliers have been more cautious.
As SteelOrbis reported earlier, a deal for ex-India SAE1006 was done at $755/mt CFR in late December, and no new bookings have been confirmed so far. Only one rumor was heard about a contract for 10,000 mt of coils of the same origin at $740/mt CFR, but most sources could not confirm this. “Indian mills are offering at $750-760/mt CFR to Vietnam. Customers don’t have strong interest in this price level and are bidding at about $740/mt CFR,” a Vietnam-based source said.
Last week, most Indian suppliers were offering at $760/mt CFR and some bids were at $750-755/mt CFR, but negative sentiment has persisted, pushing prices down further this week.
Chinese prices have remained uncompetitive, hardly below $790-795/mt CFR for SAE1006 HRC. “All focus is on India now,” one source said, adding that buyers will be cautious ahead of the new prices from the local producers in Vietnam.
“The price is still on a downtrend. It is expected to be $750-760/mt CFR for the local market in Vietnam from Formosa when next week new prices are announced,” a local trader said. In December, Formosa Ha Tinh cut prices for SAE1006 by $60/mt to $820/mt CFR, while Hoa Phat’s prices were slightly below $800/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has been corrected down slightly, by $5/mt on average over the past week to $745-755/mt CFR.
