The bearish sentiment in Vietnam’s import HRC market has eased over the past week as fewer low-priced offers have been seen and a number of suppliers have decided to focus on other markets, where realisations are higher. The higher prices of the local producer Formosa Ha Tinh have also supported sentiment.
The import price range has settled at $690-720/mt CFR this week with the lower end of the range increasing by $15/mt since last week, SteelOrbis has learned. This corresponds to the latest deal for a position cargo from a Chinese mill for SAE1006 at $690/mt CFR Vietnam this week. “This is in line with offers from China at $680/mt FOB we heard on Monday,” a trader confirmed, saying that the volume offered was not big. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, last week some trades for position cargoes were reported at as low as $675-680/mt CFR for SAE1006.
The higher end of the price level is showing, for instance, the tradable value for HRC SAE1006 from Formosa at $718-726/mt CFR for March shipment, local sources report.
The official offers from Chinese mills are staying at a much higher level. Baosteel is heard to be offering thinner 2 mm SAE1006 coils at $755/mt CFR to Vietnam. Another two large Chinese mills have announced official offers for SS400 HRC at $710-720/mt FOB this week.
Some lower-priced cargoes of China-origin coils have been sold to other sales destinations recently, to Turkey in particular. Moreover, “Taiwan can deal at $790-800/mt FOB in the EU so they don’t need to export to Vietnam,” a local source said. South Korean exporters have been focusing also on other outlets, including the US. Japanese sellers have increased offers to $800/mt FOB, with limited allocation.
The SteelOrbis reference price has been at $690-720/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $705/mt CFR this week.