Signs of rising prices have emerged in the Vietnamese HRC market by the end of this week as the major local producers have closed their order books for March after active sales since last week. Also, Indian exporters, who have been the most active sources of import HRC supply to Vietnam in past months, have withdrawn their offers and have increased their price ideas after sizable trades to different destinations.
Major Vietnamese producer Formosa Ha Tinh has managed to close its order books for March for the local market (which is at about 200,000 mt) by the end of this week. Since January 12, the seller offered re-rolling grade SAE1006 HRC (non-skin passed) at $750/mt CFR, down by $70/mt from the previous month. According to market sources, another local mill Hoa Phat has also managed to sell up to 100,000 mt of HRC for March at $730-740/mt CIF depending on the region. “People are waiting for the Chinese New Year, and so customers don’t have any interest in buying any more,” a local source said.
In addition, exports of HRC from Vietnam have accelerated after the price cuts by producers last week. One of the main mills in Vietnam has sold 50,000 mt of HRC to Southeast Asia and Europe. The price level for ASEAN customers was $740/mt FOB and above.
Many Indian mills have withdrawn offers to Vietnam or have already voiced higher prices after active sales of up to 250,000 mt of HRC to different markets in January. Some offers for ex-India SAE1006 HRC have been reported at $760-765/mt CFR for March, while the last deal done for February shipment was at $745/mt CFR last week. “Indian prices are high and Vietnam is not their target market for now,” a source said.
On Friday, Vietnamese customers have voiced some bids for Indian HRC at $755-760/mt CFR, but there has been no response from sellers as “the mills’ idea is $780-790/mt CFR level,” a local source said.
Chinese suppliers have been offering SS400 HRC at $800/mt CFR and Q355 at $830/mt CFR Vietnam. These prices are still not competitive.
An offer from Japan for March shipment HRC has been heard at $800/mt CFR, as rising costs of production and the overall uptrend in the HRC market have been pushing prices up from the previous $760-770/mt CFR heard for Japanese coils in Asia earlier in January.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported HRC in Vietnam has been increased by $10-15/mt over the past week to $755-760/mt CFR.