On June 1, Vietnam’s leading HRC producer, Hoa Phat Group, announced its new local prices for July delivery, cutting them by $13/mt from the previous month, when they had posted a surge of $50/mt. This negative adjustment was expected by market sources, considering the very sharp previous rise and sliding import prices in the second half of May.
Hoa Phat’s prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC have been announced at VND 15,360-15,390/kg ($583-584/mt) CIF, while the difference between prices in northern and central Vietnam and prices in the southern region is VND 30/kg ($1/mt). The new prices are $13-14/mt lower month on month. “The cut seems to be as expected. I guess Formosa will also cut by a range of $12-15/mt. Import prices have dropped already, which is a factor in this change,” a market source said. “We do not expect much bigger prices here locally, at least not this week,” another Vietnam-based source said.
As for the import segment, the latest deals for ex-India SAE1006 HRC were reported at $575-576/mt CFR last week, and new indications have already been heard at $565-570/mt CFR since last Friday. A number of sources confirmed that bids for import SAE material are coming at as low as $565/mt CFR, but “it has not been accepted by mills, but could be accepted once reduced EU quotas are announced,” a source commented. The latest offer for Indonesian SAE1006 HRC has also been heard, at $575/mt CFR, and the lower level seen in the market corresponds to buyers’ price idea or traders’ “test” indications. Some traders have already voiced offers at $567/mt CFR for "either India or Indonesia", which means that they are preparing for short selling and the general market outlook is negative, SteelOrbis has learned from the market.
There has been no major price change in ex-China HRC prices on Monday, June 1, with the indicative level for Q235 still at $520-525/mt CFR and a lower level is possible only for non-VAT, which has been very rare recently. The small mills and traders still voice today the lowest SS400 level at $505/mt FOB, the same as last week. A few medium-sized mills have adjusted offers by $3-7/mt over the past week, but "today the futures have increased. If it continues, mills' offers may increase accordingly," a Chinese seller said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam is at $567-577/mt CFR, which is $33/mt lower than $600-610/mt CFR in early May.
