Following the increase in import prices for Chinese suppliers at the beginning of the week, by the end of the week offers for ex-China HRC have indicated another hike, gaining by Friday, September 27, more than $20/mt since Monday, September 23. Though according to sources, deals have been rare for ex-China materials, as most customers doubt further uptrend after holidays in China. Thus, several deals for SAE1006 HRC have been signed with mills from Japan and South Korea.
Specifically, by Friday, September 27, offers for ex-China Q235/SS400 HRC have settled at $490-495/mt CFR for November shipment, against $465-470/mt CFR at the beginning of the week and up by $10/mt day on day. At the same time, indicative offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $510/mt CFR, though no firm offers have been heard so far.
At the same time, according to sources, at the end of last week- beginning of this week, Vietnamese customers have managed to book two sizable lots for SAE1006 HRC “before Chinese offers skyrocketed.” More specifically, a deal for 30,000 mt of of ex-South Korea SAE1006 HRC has been signed at $490/mt CFR for November shipment. Besides, another batch for 30,000-50,000 mt from Japan has been reportedly booked at $500/mt CFR for November shipment. “Deals for ex-Japan and ex-South Korea were when China started to be bullish but before prices skyrocketed. Today, the market in quite, no deals have been heard,” a Vietnamese trader told SteelOrbis.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $500-510/mt CFR from $495-500/mt CFR in the middle of the week and up by $20-25/mt week on week, based on the latest deal price for ex-Japan HRC and indicative offers for ex-China coils.
“Seeing the current demand situation across globe it is difficult to believe that the recent price increase by Chinese suppliers may sustain after the holidays,” an international trader said.
