The first working day after the Labour Day holiday has brought a slight price increase to Vietnam’s HRC import market amid the recovery in domestic and futures HRC prices in China. However, Vietnamese importers are mostly just evaluating the situation for now and plan to resume purchases when the trend becomes clear, as expected next week.
Market sources said that most Chinese mills have not come up with new offers for HRC so far. However, Chinese traders who offered SS400 HRC at $800-815/mt CFR and some at even $795/mt CFR level on Friday, April 29, have increased their offers to $818-820/mt CFR on May 5. Meanwhile, Vietnamese buyers have reported offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC at $870/mt CFR, compared to $845-870/mt CFR on April 29. This growth was mainly connected to the recovery in the Chinese domestic market. In particular, domestic HRC prices in China are at RMB 5,095/mt ($770/mt) ex-warehouse on May 5, up by RMB 55/mt ($8/mt) as compared to April 29, according to SteelOrbis’ data. Meanwhile, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange have increased to RMB 5,072/mt ($766/mt), up by RMB 40/mt ($6/mt) or 0.8 percent since April 29.
“The problem of blocked transportation has slightly improved in China and some regions under epidemic controls have gradually resumed work and production. But it is still early talk about an uptrend,” a market insider stated.
Meanwhile, according to market insiders, a batch of around 5,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC was sold by an international trader in a long position at $850/mt CFR Vietnam at the beginning this week. “This cargo has already arrived in Vietnam and is stored in a warehouse,” a Vietnam-based trader told.
In the meantime, Indian suppliers, who have been staying out of the Vietnamese market for a few months, are reported to have offered their materials at $900/mt CFR this week. “Indian mills still do not give firm offers, just the indicative price. We have not heard any deal signed as most Vietnamese customers are still bidding at $860-870/mt CFR,” a mill’s representative in Vietnam told SteelOrbis.
The SteelOrbis’ reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam, based mainly on the most competitive offers, has come to $870/mt CFR on May 5, compared to $850-875/mt CFR at the end of last week.
