Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, which traditionally announces its local HRC prices in the middle of each month, this time has decided not to issue official offers for HRC for October deliveries. Thus, the company plans to discuss separate offers for each customer, according to a Formosa representative.
Considering this situation, rumors have been traveling fast in the Vietnamese market. “Some buyers in northern Vietnam said they expect to buy from Formosa at $600/mt CFR, while some expect to purchase at around $620/mt CFR, the workable level for import coils,” a Vietnam-based trader said. “There are talks that they [Formosa Ha Tinh Steel] will keep the same level as in the latest round to customers,” one of the biggest Vietnamese re-rollers told SteelOrbis. In particular, last month Formosa Ha Tinh had announced its prices from local customers for re-rolling grade SAE1006 HRC (non-skin passed) at $655/mt CFR, down by $65/mt month on month, while for skin-passed SAE1006 coils the price level dropped to $660/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, prices for imported HRC in Vietnam have continued to show some signs of a rebound. Accordingly, the prices available for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $630-640/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 this week. Meanwhile, offers for Indian boron-added materials have been heard at $610-620/mt CFR, up by $10-20/mt week on week, with a deal for 10,000 mt reported at $610/mt CFR. Furthermore, another deal for ex-Taiwan SAE1006 HRC has been reported at around $620/mt CFR Vietnam this week, while offers for ex-Japan coils have settled at $620-640/mt CFR, depending on the supplier.
The SteelOrbis’ reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has settled at $610-640/mt CFR on August 12, the same as on August 10, but $10/mt higher on the lower end of the range week on week.