Japanese HRC exporters have lowered their general price range over the past month amid the downtrend in the international market, but the pace of the decline has not been rapid. Most Japanese producers have been resisting providing export prices below $1,000/mt FOB as the allocation for September shipment and beyond is limited and with the remaining volumes exporters may focus on higher-priced markets, SteelOrbis has learned.
The price level for ex-Japan SAE1006 2 mm HRC for the Asian region has gone down to $1,000-1,030/mt FOB, and so minimum $1,050-1,080/mt CFR for August-September shipment. This is down from $1,100-1,150/mt CFR last month fixed in deals. “Suppliers do know the latest market trend which is declining gradually, but they are not willing to decrease voluntarily or to match the price with China or others, since Japanese mills are still in a very tight position in supply,” a Japan source said.
Overall demand for Japanese coils in Southeast Asia has been weak and customers from Vietnam have managed to stay away from purchases from Japan or S. Korea, focusing on local buying or other cheaper sources. The tradable price level for SAE1006 in Vietnam fell to $887.5/mt CFR in late June.
In Asia, only some limited-volume deals for Japanese HRC have been reported to Pakistan at $1,050/mt CFR or slightly above amid restocking reasons.
“A surprising MMK deal to Vietnam made a bad impression on the market, but gradually it is cooling down. On the other hand, India domestic demand is a bit weak so Indian mills are becoming aggressive,” a Japanese trader said.
Europe has remained among the attractive sales destinations for Japanese HRC exporters, even though prices have also decreased there. The latest price level for ex-Japan HRC to Europe has been at €955-960/mt CFR or $1,135/mt CFR on average. Last month, the target price from Japan was €1,020-1,030/mt CFR.
No fresh offers for Japanese coils have been reported to Turkey lately mainly because of limited allocation and pretty good order books. “There is an annual regular maintenance at the biggest mill of NSC - Oita works - in mid-September, and so they have enough orders and low allocation. Then it is ok to miss a chance, and hold a higher price,” a source said.