After a long pause, leading Vietnamese steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) has finally announced its official HRC prices for the local market, while in April the mill was offering unofficially and the price was varying from customer to customer. The new offers signal the expected gradual decrease, followed by a downtrend in the import segment. But the current mood in the import market is unclear, with some rebound seen in the Chinese domestic market and rather stable offers from other Asian suppliers.
On May 12, FHS announced prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC in the local market at $508/mt CIF Haiphong for orders for a minimum of 20,000 mt, while for 10,000-20,000 mt cargoes the price has settled at $511/mt CIF. For smaller volumes of 5,000-10,000 mt and 2,000-5,000 mt of HRC, the buyers will have to pay $514/mt CIF and $518/mt CIF, respectively. The new prices are for June-July shipments and they indicate a decline compared to April, when FHS had “unofficial offers” at $520-522/mt CIF. Market sources said that the new prices from Formosa signal a “$10/mt drop from April, reflecting the unsettled import market,” as one trader said.
Also, the current prices from Formosa for the local market for large volumes are slightly lower than those announced by the other major Vietnamese producer Hoa Phat Group ($512-513/mt) early last week.
As for the import market, following the previous decline seen last week, some traders have been voicing even lower levels, trying to push sales, while some sellers have been seeing the market as relatively stable, especially, considering the recent news about the easing of the trade war between the US and China. Offers for ex-China 2,000 mm Q235 HRC, which are not targeted by AD duty, have been reported at $465/mt CFR at the lowest, down by $10-12/mt compared to last week, while some buyers wanted additional $2/mt discounts. However, higher offers for this grade and size at $470-475/mt CFR have also been available in the market, while ex-China 2,000 mm Q195 HRC has been priced at $480-485/mt CFR.
As for other Asian HRC exporters, offers from Indonesia for SAE1006 HRC have been rather stable at $508/mt CFR. Also, there has been a rumor about an ex-South Korea HRC sale for this grade at slightly above $510/mt CFR. This means that with the current duty on Chinese HRC and uncompetitive ex-China SAE1006 prices, some Asian mills are benefiting. In particular, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have increased by $5-10/mt over the past week to $515-520/mt CFR.