Prices for HRC in the Vietnamese market have continued to decrease this week, with suppliers from China being the most aggressive. However, Vietnamese importers have remained rather restrained in terms of new purchases given the continuous downtrend in China and anticipations of new prices from local producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel.
More specifically, at the beginning of this week market insiders reported several deals signed for ex-China SS400 HRC through traders at $600/mt CFR, compared to $620/mt CFR at the end of last week. Meanwhile, new offers for ex-China SS400 coils have been voiced at $595-600/mt CFR, down by $10-15 week on week, while buyers’ bids have been heard at levels of $590/mt CFR and below.
Meanwhile, ex-China SAE1006 HRC offered by traders has been heard in Vietnam at $640-650/mt CFR, down by $10-20/mt over the past week.
At the same time, other suppliers, like those from India and Taiwan have continued to stay away from the Vietnamese market, with only new offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC reported to be coming at $680/mt CFR, down by $20/mt week on week.
“Formosa is expected to release new offers next week, but this time it is hard to predict their next move given the aggressive drops from China due to their rising production. More likely Formosa’s new prices will be in line with Japanese offers at around $680/mt CFR or slightly below,” a local mill’s representative told SteelOrbis.
The SteelOrbis’ reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $640-650/mt CFR, compared to $660/mt CFR at the end of last week, given the continuous decrease in ex-China offers.
