Import HRC prices in Vietnam have reached the bottom during the past week and some sellers have started to voice even slightly higher offers after the recent announcement of local prices in the country, which even after discounts are slightly above expectations.
Today, August 5, FHS's new prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC have been announced at VND 13,698-13,968/kg ($521-532/mt) CIF for North Vietnam and VND 13,820-14,090/kg ($526-536/mt) CIF for South Vietnam. The lower ends of the ranges correspond to orders at 20,000 mt or above, while the higher ends are for lots of less than 2,000 mt. For 10,000-15,000 mt orders, offers are at $525-530/mt CIF. The general price range is $12-17/mt below the level seen from the producer at $538-548/mt CIF a month ago.
But market sources have been discussing the list of discounts received by some local sources, where the price for orders of 30,000 mt or above is at VND 13,670/kg ($520/mt) CIF and for 40,000 mt and more stands at VND 13,620/kg ($518/mt) CIF.
Market sources have assessed the new prices from Formosa as being in line with expectations and close to Hoa Phat's prices issued on Monday this week. “Yes, Hoa Phat is at $535/mt [officially], but they also give discounts and basically around $520-525/mt is now a common price for the local market [for large orders],” a Vietnam-based source said.
Import offers from traders for Indonesian and Indian SS400/SAE1006 HRC are at $507/mt CFR now, after limited sales at $503-504/mt CFR reported early this week. The previous low price was available because of low demand on the one hand, but also due to higher supply. With the launch of the new HRC mill in Indonesia, owned by major stainless steel producer Tsingshan, the volumes of carbon HRC offered from Indonesia have increased. At the same time, an offer price from another Indonesian producer - Dexin Steel - has been heard at $515/mt CFR Vietnam. Ex-India offer from mills are not below $510/mt CFR.
“The price was going down too quickly in Vietnam, so this [slight rebound] is natural. But this may be a temporary respite as demand is terrible,” a trading source commented.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import HRC in Vietnam has settled at $504-515/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $509.5/mt CFR, down by $1.5/mt on average from last week's $510-512/mt CFR. Though in reality offers prices have been mainly fluctuating at around $510/mt CFR, the SteelOrbis reference price includes the latest deal price levels, even though they are done by traders in positions.
