Offer prices for imported HRC in Vietnam have posted further rises and, even though overall demand has not been much better, a number of market participants have witnessed some increases in bids, reflecting slightly better confidence among customers. This is mainly connected with increased supply tightening, which is unlikely to ease in the very short term, SteelOrbis has learned from the market.
Offers for SAE1006 HRC from China have been reported at $610-620/mt CFR at the lowest by the middle of this week, with the official offers mainly at the higher end of the range, while the lower end represents the lowest possible level for suppliers. This price range is stable from that reported on Monday this year, but is up by $20/mt from last week. At the same time, bids from Vietnamese customers have increased to $590/mt CFR, being at $570-575/mt CFR at the highest last week. Moreover, the reports about deals from China at $600/mt CFR, heard early this week, have been confirmed by a number of sources, but the contracts were signed on Monday at the latest, sources have said, adding that suppliers are not ready to sell at this level anymore.
Chinese suppliers have not cut export allocations in fact, but they are bullish, supported by the local market uptrend, while overseas customers have a very limited choice, as most other sellers, who were active earlier, have withdrawn or voiced much higher targets. “$600/mt CFR may be acceptable now for some special cases. The market is very positive since supply seems to be in shortage for the near future,” a local source said.
In addition, it is already hard to find offers for ex-China SS400 HRC at below $600/mt CFR in Vietnam lately, versus $580-590/mt CFR last week. The tradable level for this grade is assessed by market sources at around $585/mt CFR at least.
Moreover, Indian exporters are back with new SAE1006 HRC offers. According to sources, on Tuesday one large mill voiced an offer at $610/mt CFR, which is up from the deal done last week at $575-580/mt CFR. But just today, December 14, a number of Indian suppliers have returned to the market with $640/mt CFR levels. A number of large Indian producers such as JSW Steel, AMNS and Tata Steel have managed to sell good volumes to Europe, the Middle East and even to Vietnam over the past two to three weeks, so “they are looking to export, but the allocation is not much,” a trader commented.
All other suppliers, like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are still out of the market. “But probably all offers would be over $620/mt CFR,” a source said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has moved up to $590-610/mt CFR, up by $10/mt since Monday and up $20/mt over the past week.
“I think it will continue until Chinese New Year for sure. I am quite certain they [suppliers] will like to have a Happy New Year this time,” a trader commented.
