Japanese suppliers have been insisting on higher HRC prices this week. One lot of 40,000 mt of SAE1006 coils has been sold to Vietnam at $435/mt CFR or slightly above for August shipment, which is equivalent to $420-425/mt FOB. Offers have been already heard from two major exporters from Japan at $450/mt CFR to Vietnam this week.
Also a deal for 30,000 mt of Japanese HRC has been signed at $425/mt CFR to Pakistan this week. Japanese coils for July shipment have been traded at $410-420/mt CFR Pakistan, as reported earlier.
The above booking signals a price increase compared to July shipment sales, which have been mainly below $400/mt FOB. Nevertheless, sources believe that, following some worsening of sentiments in China, it will be hard to achieve a further increase in deal prices in the near future.
“Suppliers will aim for a price increase in major markets [other Southeast Asian countries than Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Middle East]. For now, sales for August shipments have just started,” a Japanese trader said.