Following the downward correction announced by Vietnamese mill Formosa Ha Tinh by $45/mt for October delivery HRC, another major local producer Hoa Phat Group has cut its local prices. The reduction is by $20/mt compared to the level announced in July. Even though the margin of the decline is smaller than that from Formosa, prices from Hoa Phat have fallen below the $600/mt CIF mark, which may put pressure on import prices, as SteelOrbis learned from market sources on August 17.
The new prices from Hoa Phat Group, for SS400 and SAE1006 HRC, have been reported at VND 14,000/mt, which is $595/mt CIF for mainly October deliveries, down from $615/mt CIF in July for September delivery coils. The price of Hoa Phat is closely watched by market sources to understand the situation in the SS400 HRC segment. “It is the lowest price currently,” a market source said. For ex-China SS400 coils, the most competitive offers have been coming at just $610-620/mt CFR Vietnam from one mill and some traders, and so import prices will be under pressure as customers will have cheaper local alternatives to Chinese SS400.
In the SAE1006 HRC segment, Vietnamese customers have focused on negotiations with Formosa Ha Tinh, which offered $610/mt CFR for non-skin passed SAE1006 HRC for October delivery. Though “$600/mt CFR is negotiable,” a local trading source said about Formosa’s prices. In such conditions, it is unlikely that Vietnamese mills will pay above $600-605/mt CFR for imported SAE1006 in the near future, though most offers are coming at $610-630/mt CFR.
SteelOrbis has decided to cut the weekly reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam to $600-630/mt CFR, down by $5/mt from $610-630/mt CFR on Monday and down $10/mt from $610-640/mt CFR last week.