Prices for import HRC have continued to go up in the Asian market, in Vietnam in particular, pushed up by rising prices for Indian coils. At the same time, Chinese exporters have still been mainly focused on the domestic market, where prices have increased by $21/mt over the weekend.
The latest ex-India sale has been rumoured at $805/mt CFR to Vietnam late last week and, though it was for thin coils of not above 2 mm, the price level is not far from the bid price level from the majority of customers, SteelOrbis has learned.
Also, one small-volume deal for a position cargo of unknown origin has been heard at $790-795/mt CFR, but most sources in the market said that it is already too low lower for most of exporters and there are no offers below $800-805/mt CFR any more.
Most Indian mills have been targeting $830-840/mt CFR in Vietnam in offers at the moment. Suppliers see a further uptrend in Europe and an overall supply shortage owing to the absence of big-volume offers from China in Asia, which provide grounds for further price increases.
At the same time, demand for HRC in Vietnam has been firm lately, pushing steady bid prices up. The SteelOrbis reference price for imported HRC in Vietnam has been increased to $800-805/mt CFR, up by $12.5/mt on average from March 26.
Chinese HRC exporters are still barely present in the Vietnamese market amid expectations of an export tax rebate cut. Some traders have only been discussing sales, sharing the risks of losses 50:50 with their customers. Moreover, the recent supply reduction in the northern part of China due to restrictions in Tangshan has supported the uptrend in the local market. The average HRC price level in China has added RMB 140/mt ($21/mt) since Friday to RMB 5,255/mt ($803/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Official offers for boron-added SS400 HRC from Chinese mills have skyrocketed by $42.5/mt on average to $790-850/mt FOB.
$1 = RMB 6.5416