Following a slight increase in local prices from Hoa Phat Group at the beginning of the month, on Monday, January 12, local producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) has also revised its domestic offers up by around $12/mt month on month, following the disappearance of cheap non-VAT ex-China HRC prices from the market.
More specifically, after the announcement at the beginning of the month by the other major local producer Hoa Phat Group of new local HRC offers at slightly higher levels, this week FHS has also increased its new prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC, by $12/mt month on month, to $504/mt CIF for orders for a minimum of 20,000 mt, while offers for smaller orders of 2,000-5,000 mt and below have settled at $512/mt CIF.
“The increase in offers from Formosa has created a better mood in the Vietnamese market. However, this move has been mainly attributed to the disappearance of cheap non-VAT Chinese HRC offers, while the demand in the country has remained slow,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
The current prices from Formosa for the local market for large volumes are around $6-7/mt lower than those from the other major Vietnamese producer Hoa Phat Group ($510-511/mt CIF).
Meanwhile, import offers for ex-China Q235 2,000 mm HRC have been voiced at $485-490/mt CFR, mainly the same as last week.
The most competitive offers for SAE1006 HRC have been voiced from Indian suppliers at $488-490/mt CFR, while offers from other suppliers of SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $490-505/mt CFR. The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has settled at $488-490/mt CFR, the same as at the end of last week.
