Although no significant signs of a demand recovery have been seen in Vietnam’s HRC import market this week and though trade for flat products in the main destinations overseas has remained slow, a slight rebound has been seen in import prices from Chinese suppliers since the beginning of this week supported by the recovery of HRC futures prices in China. However, for now the uptrend in Vietnam is shaky and market insiders believe that Chinese HRC suppliers may push their offers up further to secure deals at higher prices before the upcoming long Lunar New Year holiday (January 28-February 4), while any further upward movement after the holiday is doubtful.
More specifically, as of Wednesday, January 15, offers for ex-China Q235/SS400 HRC have increased to $472-475/mt CFR mainly for February shipment, against $468-470/mt CFR yesterday, and up by $10-12/mt since the end of last week. “The last bookings were reported at $460/mt CFR at the end of last week,” a Vietnamese trader told SteelOrbis, adding, “Today’s bids have been heard at $470/mt CFR, while on Monday they [bids] were as low as $465/mt CFR.”
Meanwhile, the SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has moved to $495-500/mt CFR, from $475-495/mt CFR at the end of last week based on offers from China coming at $495/mt CFR, while other foreign suppliers have been refraining from giving offers to Vietnam, with only occasional offers for ex-Indonesia HRC heard at around $500/mt CFR and slightly above.
Notably, rising HRC futures in the Chinese market amid some improvement in sentiments and expectations of the government support ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday have resulted in some slight rises in offers from Chinese sellers. As of January 15, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,417/mt ($475/mt), increasing by RMB 96/mt ($13/mt) since January 8, and up by 0.92 percent from the previous day, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
“The increase in ex-China HRC prices has failed to result in any rises in deal prices so far. However, tradable levels may increase as more deals are expected before the long holiday, but most buyers doubt a significant uptrend will continue after the holiday, when the market will calm down,” a Vietnamese trader told SteelOrbis.