A few new bookings have been reported in Vietnam’s import HRC market by the end of the current week, with lower prices confirmed. Some activity in the import segment has been seen as some clarity emerged after Hoa Phat’s price announcement early this week.
Some tonnages (not less than 20,000 mt) were sold by the Indonesian mill to Vietnam at $543/mt CFR for a mix of SAE1006 and SS400 on July 2. Though some sources said that the final price was a few dollars below. The Indonesian producer had not been active in the week before then, waiting to hear local HRC prices in Vietnam first. This price has been assessed as competitive, considering Hoa Phat’s official levels at $549-550/mt CIF.
Also, there have been a few deals for Indian coils done at $535/mt CFR Vietnam, as confirmed by sources. “Even though traders have been more aggressive than mills, this level is now what we see as the market price,” an Indian source told SteelOrbis.
The reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has settled at $535-543/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $539/mt CFR, down by $1/mt on average since early this week and $7.5/mt lower than last week.
As regards Chinese HRC exports, negative sentiments have persisted. The offer price level and rare deals for Chinese SS400 HRC from small mills and traders have settled at $486-490/mt FOB, down by $3/mt on average from Tuesday this week and down $7.5/mt over the past week.
In such conditions, a rumor about a sale of Q195/SS400 HRC has been rumored to Pakistan at $512/mt CFR, down from the indication of $515/mt CFR early in the current week. The indicative level for SS400 coils in Vietnam is at $505-510/mt CFR, versus $510/mt CFR early this week. A deal for 10,000-15,000 mt of ex-China Q195 HRC has been heard at $499-500/mt CFR, while last week a deal for this grade was heard at $500-502/mt CFR Vietnam. In addition, a contract for 5,000 mt of Chinese SPHC pickled and oiled coils has been at $560/mt CFR, down by $3/mt from the previous sale.
