Although overall demand for imported HRC in Vietnam has been slow, some buying interest has emerged for Indonesian origin SS400/SAE1006 HRC due to its comparatively attractive pricing against other Asian suppliers. At the same time, Chinese offers have remained relatively stable from last week despite continued declines in domestic futures prices, while investigations into non-VAT cargoes in China have added further uncertainty for Vietnamese buyers.
More specifically, around 30,000 mt of ex-Indonesia SS400/SAE1006 HRC were traded at $497/mt CFR for October shipment to Vietnam at the end of last week, which was the lowest level for this grade in the market. Besides, this deal was signed with a discount as most offers for ex-Indonesia HRC have been voiced at $510/mt CFR.
Offers from Japan for SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $510-515/mt CFR, almost the same as last week. The ex-Malaysia price for the same grade has been voiced at $520/mt CFR, while Chinese prices for SAE1006 have remained at $510-520/mt CFR.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $497-510/mt CFR, versus $505-510/mt CFR last week.
As for offers for ex-China 2,000 mm Q235 HRC, they have remained relatively stable at $498/mt CFR. However, there has been active discussion that 200,000 mt of HRC was prevented from leaving Fangchenggang port in Guangxi, south China, as authorities investigate cargoes suspected of evading value-added tax (VAT). The material, 1,900-2,000 mm, was intended for Vietnam, which has not yet imposed antidumping duties on such imports.