Import HRC offers in Vietnam have posted some gradual increases this week, but most market sources do not view these as an actual trend. Supporting this view, the rare deals done have mainly been heard at only small discounts compared to previous bookings.
Indian suppliers, who had been among the most flexible in Vietnam in the previous two weeks, have been less aggressive this week, with most of their offers for SAE1006 (and a mix of SS and SAE grades) at $555-565/mt CFR, while last week they did deals at $552-555/mt CFR. In general, local demand in India is still under pressure and allocation for exports is still rather high, but after selling decent volumes previously and seeing the moves made by other exporters, Indian mills have stopped giving discounts. “China seems to be very weak again, but India won’t reduce prices at the moment. Traders may be getting aggressive, but Indian mills’ price is still $540/mt FOB for early August shipment,” an Asian trader said. The freight from India to Vietnam is assessed at $25/mt or above depending on the volume.
Official offer prices for SAE1006 2 mm HRC from the major Indonesian mill are at $570-572/mt CFR for late August shipment, increasing by just $2/mt from last week. But for 3 mm material traders have given as low as $560/mt CFR, which may be competitive for some customers.
As SteelOrbis reported early this week, a contract for ex-Taiwan SAE1006 HRC was signed to Vietnam at $562/mt CFR, though the assessment for ex-Japan coils is still not below $580/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has added $5/mt on average over the past week to $555-570/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $562.5/mt CFR.
Some small deals are reported to have been done to Vietnam from China this week. For instance, 3,000 mt of Chinese SPHC pickled and oiled coil have been traded at $573/mt CFR, down by $2-3/mt from the previous contract for the same grade a week ago. Though sentiments in China were cautiously optimistic early this week, by the end of the week a bearish mood has returned fully. One offer for CRFH 1 mm has been heard at $563/mt CFR for September shipment, and this has been assessed as “extremely low and unrealistic”, sources said.
Also, one contract for 15,000 mt of Chinese Q195 HRC has been rumored at $505/mt CFR, but this could not be confirmed by the time of publication and most sources in Vietnam polled by SteelOrbis agree that it is either a contract signed earlier or it has some special conditions or it is simply not true. “I do not think it can be done now [as most non-VAT offers from China have been withdrawn]. Offers for Q195 are over $510/mt CFR. No one is accepting this, but no one is selling lower either,” a major Chinese trader said. Chinese Q235 has been assessed at $520-525/mt CFR, and these levels remain nominal.
