The mood in the import HRC segment in Vietnam has improved slightly over the past week, mainly on the back of the rebound in ex-China offers supported by the hikes in futures prices in China. Besides, after weeks of silence more deals have been reported this week amid better demand in Vietnam. At the same time, HRC exports have been rebounding as well, as both Formosa Ha Tinh Steel and Hoa Phat Group have managed to secure big volumes over the past two weeks.
Accordingly, after a deal for around 5,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC was signed at the beginning of the week at $600-605/mt CFR Vietnam, market insiders have reported about 30,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC sold at $600/mt FOB (around $610-613/mt CFR Vietnam) by the middle of the week. Besides, according to sources, several small deals for ex-China coils have been already signed at $620/mt CFR. At the same time, several deal for ex-China SS400 HRC are reported to have been signed at $585/mt CFR Vietnam this week, though most offers have increased to $590-600/mt CFR, up by $10-15/mt week on week.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $630/mt CFR. Offers from India have been heard at $620-630/mt CFR, with a deal for around 15,000/mt reported at $620/mt CFR this week, though this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. “Everything has been increasing, we heard some ex-China and ex-India SAE1006 HRC indications at as high as $630/mt CFR and $670/mt CFR, respectively, but these prices are considered to be too high at least for now,” a Vietnamese mill’s representative told SteelOrbis.
The reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has moved up to $610-620/mt CFR, compared to $600-610/mt CFR last week, given new deals signed at higher levels this week.
In the meantime, Vietnamese HRC exporters, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel and Hoa Phat Group have been increasing their export allocations, selling at least 40,000 mt of materials overseas. In particular, around 30,000 mt of HRC have been sold to Pakistan at $615-625/mt CFR, depending on the specification, during the past two weeks through Chinese traders. Besides, around 10,000 mt of HRC ex-Hoa Phat Group were sold to Indonesia at $610-615/mt CFR last week. “Given Vietnamese mills’ focus on exports they have reduced the number of offers for local clients, though we heard that some orders have been closed by Formosa at $625/mt CFR Ho Chi Minh this week,” a market insider said, adding, “Higher levels of HRC sales may actually support the increase of the capacity utilization rate, which has dropped significantly in Vietnam since October.”
