Prices for imported HRC in Vietnam have posted an unexpected increase this week as customers have been forced to accept higher offers, seeing acceleration of imports in China. At the same time, overall demand in Vietnam has remained limited due to the rainy season and market participants are not confident in further price increase.
A contract for 20,000 mt of ex-India HRC from one of the major mills has been closed at $448/mt CFR Vietnam late this week. Also the latest deal for the same volume from China for SAE1006 has been closed at $448-450/mt CFR Vietnam. This level is much higher compared to deals for Indian and Chinese coils at $432-437/mt CFR last week.
Offers from India have been at $435-440/mt CFR last week, but recently exporters have been asking much higher prices in Vietnam. Most offers are at $455-460/mt CFR from India late this week, some sellers can give $450/mt CFR, but reject offering at a lower level, local sources from Vietnam said. Such a hike has been connected with large sales volumes to China. According to different sources, 150,000-200,000 mt from India have been sold to China mostly at $445/mt CFR this week, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. “The price seems increasing again in China, so bids from Vietnam are also on the rise,” a trader said.
Last week a lot of 40,000 mt of Japanese coils was traded in Vietnam at $450/mt CFR. This week Japanese sellers have been holding negotiations with Chinese customers, who voiced bids at $445-450/mt CFR. According to some sources, a deal was done at about $450/mt CFR China. After that Japanese exporters have been preparing for a further hike and no firm offers have been heard in Vietnam late this week.
SteelOrbis weekly reference price for imported HRC in Vietnam has been set at $445-450/mt CFR this week, up $13/mt on average.
However, there are cautious expectations from some Vietnamese market participants. “The demand is not strong, so customers keep waiting this week. Many mills cut down production,” a source from Vietnam shared.