Prices for HRC in the Vietnamese market have continued to decrease this week, with suppliers from China being as always the most aggressive, even though some recovery has been seen in HRC futures prices in China this week. At the same time, trade activity has remined limited as Vietnamese customers are still rather restrained in terms of purchases given the slow demand locally.
More specifically, offers for ex-China Q235/SS400 HRC have been voiced at $450-455/mt CFR, down by $15/mt week on week, but were slightly higher than the deal prices reported at the end of last week at $445/mt CFR, according to sources. Besides, by the middle of this week, several deals for ex-China Q235 HRC have been signed at $448-452/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been reported at $475/mt CFR, down by $5/mt week on week, though several bids are still voiced at as low as $470/mt CFR. Thus, the SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has moved to $470-475/mt CFR, against $480/mt CFR at the end of last week.
“Even though there has been a slight recovery in futures prices during the past two days, it is still not enough to boost export prices and significantly change the mood among Vietnamese buyers,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
As of September 11, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,188/mt ($448/mt), decreasing by RMB 26/mt ($3.6/mt) since September 3, while up one percent compared to the previous trading day, September 10.
