Although import HRC prices have indicated new declines this week, Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS) has announced its new local HRC prices for February and March shipments mostly at the same levels as in December or only slightly lower for large-volume orders. The new prices are viewed by most local buyers as overpriced given the recent fall in ex-China HRC offers, but they have changed market sentiment slightly, giving hope for some recovery in import prices also this month.
More specifically, on January 8, FHS’ prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC in the local market settled at $511/mt CIF for orders for a minimum of 20,000 mt, down by $5/mt month on month, while prices for smaller volumes settled at $520/mt CIF, down by $3-6/mt depending on the quantity. At the same time, export offers for ex-Formosa SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $527/mt CFR Malaysia, according to sources, which translates to around $512-515/mt FOB.
In the meantime, offers for ex-China Q235 HRC in Vietnam have settled at $460-465/mt CFR, against $480/mt CFR reported a few days ago. According to sources, several deals for around 20,000 mt of ex-China Q195 HRC are reported to have been signed at $460/mt CFR at the end of last week, though this week offers for ex-China Q195 HRC have dropped to $455/mt CFR.
Besides, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been assessed at $485/mt CFR, down by $10-15/mt week on week. Furthermore, according to sources, in late December a deal for around 20,000 mt of ex-Indonesia SAE1006 HRC was signed at around $505-510/mt CFR, while this week new offers from Indonesia have been estimated at $500/mt CFR. Thus, SteelOrbis’ reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has moved to $485-500/mt CFR, against $495-500/mt CFR last week.
As of January 8, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,321/mt ($453/mt), decreasing by RMB 104/mt ($14/mt) or 3.0 percent since December 25, while down 0.98 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 7.