Following a deal for ex-Indonesia SAE1006 HRC signed at $497/mt CFR last week, this week trade activity in the SAE1006 HRC segment has remained slow, though offer prices have declined slightly from most foreign suppliers. At the same time, according to sources, Vietnamese customers have secured several deals for ex-China Q235 HRC, which is not targeted by antidumping (AD) duty so far.
More specifically, a deal for around 25,000 mt of ex-China Q235 HRC, 2 mm, has been signed this week at $495/mt CFR for early November shipment. Besides, another deal for 10,000-15,000 mt of Q235 1.9 mm has been signed at $497/mt CFR for late October shipment. “These deals have been confirmed following the news about 200,000 mt of HRC prevented from leaving Fangchenggang port in south China last week, as the customs authorities investigate cargoes suspected of evading value-added tax (VAT),” a market insider told SteelOrbis. Meanwhile, most offers for ex-China Q235 HRC have remained at $498-500/mt CFR levels, the same as last week.
At the same time, offers for ex-Indonesia SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $498-505/mt CFR, mainly for November shipment, against deal prices at $497/mt CFR last week, but compared to $510/mt CFR offers reported at the beginning of this week. Besides, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been voiced $515/mt CFR for November shipment, the same as at the beginning of this week, while offers for ex-Malaysia SAE1006 HRC have settled at $505-510/mt CFR for November shipment as well, against offers at $520/mt CFR reported at the beginning of this week.
Offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $500-505/mt CFR, for late October-early November shipment, but no interest has been seen due to the AD duty.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $498-505/mt CFR, versus $497-510/mt CFR at the beginning of this week.