Vietnamese HRC producer Hoa Phat Group has announced its new local HRC prices for October-November shipment, cutting them by around $10/mt on average from the previous month. The decision is attributed to the extremely slow demand in the country and is in line with market sources’ expectations. Besides, since import quotations, for ex-China HRC in particular, have shown another slight decrease this week, the mood among most Vietnamese buyers has remained negative so far.
Specifically, on September 4, Hoa Phat’s prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC for October and November shipment have been announced at VND 12,840-12,870/kg ($515-518/mt) CIF, where the lower end of the range corresponds to the prices in northern and central Vietnam, while the higher price is found in the south. This means that the current prices are around $10/mt lower than last month.
The decision to decrease prices follows the downtrend of import HRC prices during the past week. This week offers from Chinese traders for Q235/SS400 HRC have been estimated at $465-470/mt CFR for October shipment, against $473-475/mt CFR last week, with several deals reported to have been signed at $467/mt CFR, according to sources. Besides, offers for ex-China Q195 HRC have settled at $465/mt CFR, while most bids have been voiced at $460/mt CFR.
At the same time, the SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $485/mt CFR for October shipment, from $485-490/mt CFR last week, based mainly on the offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC.
Meanwhile, as of September 4, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,171/mt ($466/mt), decreasing by RMB 150/mt ($21/mt) or 4.52 percent since August 28, while down 2.61 percent compared to the previous trading day, September 3.
