Imports of hot rolled coil (HRC) has continued to flood Indian market, as a major integrated steel manufacturer in Vietnam Formosa Ha Tinh, recently approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), has been selling significant volumes of its materials since the beginning of the month.
SteelOrbis has learned that Vietnam’s producer has reportedly booked 20,000 mt of HRC for exports to India at $583/mt CFR for August shipment, while another deal for around 40,000 mt has been signed with Indian buyers at $580/mt CFR. Meanwhile, ex-Vietnam HRC offers to India have been voiced at $580-585/mt CFR for SAE1006 HRC and at around $575/mt CFR for SS400 HRC.
Earlier at the beginning of June, around 90,000 mt in total of ex-Vietnam HRC were reportedly sold in India at $590-596/mt CFR for July shipment, as SteelOrbis reported. Furthermore, according to sources, apart from ex-Vietnam bookings, an estimated volume of 40,000 mt ex-South Korea HRC booked earlier at the end of last month at around $595/mt CFR is also expected at Chennai port in the current month. Besides, additional arrivals of 75,000 mt ex-China HRC were expected in July-August.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at around $550-555/mt CFR, excluding 7.5 percent duty, down by $15/mt since early June. However, according to market insiders, no interest in Chinese materials has been seen among Indian buyers due to more competitive offers coming from Vietnam.
This week, local Indian HRC prices remained stable at INR 55,500/mt ($664/mt) ex-Mumbai and at INR 56,000/mt ($670/mt) ex-Chennai in the south amid low trading activity from weak demand conditions leading to some reports of discounted sales by section of trade channels at around INR 53,000/mt ($634/mt) in western regional market and at INR 55,000/mt ($658/mt) in northern region.