Negative sentiment has continued to prevail in the Vietnamese import HRC market this week. Demand has been limited to sporadic deals for Indian and Chinese materials after discounts.
In particular, ex-India SAE1006 HRC has been sold at $575-576/mt CFR to Vietnam, down from offers at $580/mt CFR last week. However, bids have continued to head south, and by Friday this week buyers have been voicing targets for SAE HRC at $565-570/mt CFR.
Similar to Indian suppliers, the Indonesian mill has also provided some discounts, and offers for ex-Indonesia SAE1006 HRC have been at $575-577/mt CFR, though a bid has been heard at $567/mt CFR.
Offers for SAE HRC from S. Korea, Taiwan and Japan have been at $600-630/mt CFR and have been assessed by buyers as “totally unworkable”.
Some deals have been reported for Chinese HRC in Vietnam this week. Two contracts, for 10,000 mt and 20,000 mt of Q195 HRC, have been signed at $505-506/mt CFR and $508/mt CFR, respectively, both for re-export. Indicative levels for ex-China Q235 HRC have been at $515-525/mt CFR, including some non-VAT offers reported at the lower end of the range, which is down from $530/mt CFR last week.
One small-volume deal for Chinese SPHC pickled and oiled coils has been heard at $577/mt CFR, which is $6/mt below the contract for a similar grade reported two weeks ago.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has settled at $570-577/mt CFR, losing $3-5/mt over the week.
