Prices for imported HRC in Vietnam have continued to show some signs of a rebound, since low-priced ex-China offers from traders have not been available anymore and suppliers from India have slightly increased their offers. Besides, local HRC producers have closed their order books for September. At the same time, new HRC suppliers have emerged with offers in Vietnam, taking advantage of Vietnamese customers’ low interest in Chinese materials due to the high offer prices involved.
According to market sources, an Indian steel mill has managed to sell around 10,000 mt of SAE1006 and SS400 HRC at $610/mt CFR. Although most Indian sources do not see any firm rebound at least for now, this deal price is higher than last week's indicative assessment at $600/mt CFR. Offers for ex-India boron-added HRC have been voiced at $610-615/mt CFR, up by $10-15/mt week on week.
Market sources said ex-China SAE1006 HRC offers have been rare in Vietnam this week, with the indicative level standing at around $640/mt CFR, the same as last week. However, Chinese traders who sold SS400 HRC at $600-610/mt CFR last week, have managed to sell several lots at $610-620/mt CFR Vietnam this week. This growth is mainly connected to the recovery in the Chinese domestic market.
Meanwhile, apart from the traditional suppliers India and China, new offers have emerged in Vietnam from Japan, Taiwan and even Indonesia. In particular, Japanese suppliers have reported their offers for SAE1006 HRC at $620-640/mt CFR, compared to $640-650/mt CFR last week. “Nippon Steel wants to sell at $640/mt CFR, JFE Steel at $620/mt CFR,” a market participant told SteelOrbis. At the same time, according to market insiders, a few batches of around 20,000/mt in total of ex-Taiwan HRC (1.9 mm and up) were sold at $610-620/mt CFR for September shipment this week. However, several offers for ex-Taiwan SS400 HRC have been reported at $600-610/mt CFR Vietnam. Furthermore, offers for SAE1006 HRC from Indonesian supplier PT Krakatau POSCO have been voiced in Vietnam at $605/mt CFR this week.
The SteelOrbis’ reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has come to $610-640/mt CFR on August 10, compared to $600-640/mt CFR last week.