Vietnamese steelmaker Formosa Ha Tinh has started to offer hot rolled coils (HRC) for September delivery, with its prices increasing by $10/mt from the previous month’s level. Continuously increasing import prices in Vietnam and the rise of demand for imported coils from China have been the main drivers of the further price rise by Formosa.
Formosa Ha Tinh has announced offers for SAE1006 grade skin-passed HRC for its customers in Vietnam at $465-470/mt CFR, up by $10/mt compared to last month. Prices for non skin-passed SAE1006 HRC, which are the main focus of the market, are at $460-465/mt CFR. Prices for SS400 grade HRC for pipe makers are $5/mt below the level for non-skin passed SAE1006.
As SteelOrbis reported last month, prices for August delivery from Formosa had increased by at least $20/mt.
The company had started to offer different prices depending on the customer in April, not giving one price list for all buyers. For now, there are reports oof different offers for non skin-passed SAE1006 coils from Formosa at $460/mt CFR, $462/mt CFR, $464/mt CFR, $466/mt CFR and $468/mt CFR, according to different customers in Vietnam. Moreover, there have been reports of an offer of Formosa’s non skin-passed SAE1006 HRC at $462/mt CFR China for September shipment.
At the same time, the import HRC market in Vietnam has stalled recently. Some suppliers have focused on sales to China and have been increasing offers to Vietnam, while “buyers are not accepting these high prices,” a trader commented. Offers for Indian SAE1006 HRC have been at $465-470/mt CFR Vietnam recently, up from $455-460/mt CFR. Ex-China prices from mills have reached $465/mt FOB minimum, which translates to $480/mt CFR Vietnam and above.
There have been no offers from Japan recently after a deal at “$455/mt CFR to China last week. There are zero negotiations this week. There is very little allocation from Nippon as domestic demand has picked up and heavy rain affects production,” a Japanese trader told SteelOrbis. South Korean sellers have also focused on China, with one deal that has been heard at $460/mt FOB, as reported earlier.
The SteelOrbis weekly reference price for imported HRC in Vietnam has been set at $455-460/mt CFR this week, up by $10/mt amid increased offers mainly.
