The latest deal prices for imported HRC in Vietnam have shown a further increase, with Chinese material still being the most popular among customers. Tight supply is likely to support a further uptrend in the near future in the Vietnamese market.
According to sources, the latest deal for 10,000-20,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC from China’s Baosteel has been reported as being done at $643/mt CFR last Friday. The cargo consists only of 2 mm coils. Another large supplier from China has sold a lot, for coils of 2 mm and above, at $635/mt CFR Vietnam. Most bids are staying at $635/mt CFR for SAE1006 or slightly below for Chinese HRC, while offers are already at $645-650/mt CFR. “Customers do not have many choices now. Some exporters prefer to sell to other markets or in the local market,” a source from Vietnam said.
Ex-Japan SAE 1006 HRC has been traded at $647-650/mt CFR Vietnam to a regular buyer, while the allocation from the country has remained limited and fresh offers in the spot market from Japan have already reached $660/mt CFR and above.
“We guess the new prices from Formosa will be at $635-640/mt CFR,” a trading source said. Last month, offers for re-rolling HRC from Formosa Ha Tinh were at $560-565/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported HRC in Vietnam has increased to $635-643/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $639/mt CFR, up by $11.5/mt compared to the level settled late last week.
