As anticipated, Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS) has announced new local HRC prices, raising them by $10/mt from July levels. The move follows a similar increase by domestic competitor Hoa Phat last week. However, FHS has been cautious about larger hikes as it faces competition from foreign suppliers, particularly from Japan and Indonesia, which have stepped up SAE-grade HRC sales to Vietnam amid a slowdown in Chinese exports.
On August 8, FHS announced its new prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC in the local market at $507/mt CIF, for orders for a minimum of 20,000 mt, up by $10/mt compared to the level seen in July. For 10,000-20,000 mt orders, the price has settled at $510/mt CIF, versus $500/mt CIF before. For smaller volumes of 5,000-10,000 mt, 2,000-5,000 mt and below 2,000 mt of HRC, the buyers will have to pay $512/mt CIF, $515/mt CIF and $517/mt CIF, respectively. All prices are for September-October shipments.
The current prices from Formosa for the local market for large volumes are around $10/mt lower than those from the other major Vietnamese producer Hoa Phat Group ($517-518/mt CIS).
As for the import market in Vietnam, offers for ex-China 2,000 mm Q235 HRC, which are not subject to antidumping duty, have been reported at $487-490/mt CFR for August shipment, but down by $5/mt week on week. Meanwhile, indicative ex-China SAE1006 HRC offers have been voiced at around $500-510/mt CFR, though interest from Vietnamese buyers is still limited due to applicable duties.
Offers from Indonesia for SAE1006 HRC have been heard at $505-510/mt CFR for October shipment, up by $5/mt week on week, while offer prices for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC stand at around $510-520/mt CFR, compared to $515/mt CFR last week.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has remained at the same level as at the beginning of this week at $505/mt CFR, but is up by $5/mt CFR week on week.