Prices for imported HRC in Vietnam will likely keep going down in the near future as a negative outlook has prevailed in China and demand in general has weakened visibly.
The latest small tonnage bookings for SAE1006 HRC from traders have been reported at $650/mt CFR on average, which is $5/mt CFR below a deal confirmed earlier this week done by one of the main Chinese mills to Vietnam. “I think the weakness will continue for some time. Today, iron ore went down sharply - not a good sign,” one trading source said. Most local sources said that the situation in the HDG market in Vietnam has worsened significantly after exports had almost halted. “We expect to see a further price decline from Formosa next week,” a source said. Some traders have been offering SS400 HRC to Vietnam at $630-640/mt CFR.
Most other suppliers have been still voicing higher prices. There is information about traders testing the market with an offer of about 30,000-35,000 mt of Russian SAE1006 HRC at $675/mt CFR. But taking into account the weak market mood, Vietnamese importers have been bidding only at $630-640/mt CFR.
“It seems mainly Chinese material is in the 600s [CFR], everywhere else prices are well into the mid-700s [CFR],” a trader from Singapore said. The latest official offers from Japan have been reported at $780/mt CFR Vietnam, with the possibility to negotiate at lower price levels of $750-760/mt CFR, but there has been no interest from buyers.
Local HRC supplier Hoa Phat was offering re-rolling grade HRC at $655-660/mt CFR for March-April shipment early this week and the producer will sell at $650/mt CFR maximum in the next round, sources believe. There are talks in the market that in the June-July period Hoa Phat may start to offer HRC to the export market, while for now the company is fully focused on local sales and on consolidation of production.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has settled at $650-655/mt CFR late this week, down by $5/mt from yesterday and down $20-25/mt compared to last week.
