This week, Vietnamese producer Hoa Phat Group has announced its new offers for domestic customers, decreasing them by around $10/mt month on month as the falling import HRC market has continued to affect the mood of Vietnamese buyers.
Specifically, Hoa Phat’s prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC for August-September shipments have been announced at $566-568/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. Thus, it means that the current price is around $10/mt lower than last month. “We heard Hoa Phat has also been offering skin-passed SAE1006 at around $570/mt CIF,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
The decision of Hoa Phat to decrease prices was expected by most Vietnamese buyers given the bearishness mounting in the import segment, though some expected new offers at $560/mt CIF and below. The latest offers for ex-China Q235/SS400 HRC have been reported at $530-532/mt CFR, against $545/mt CFR last week. Besides, following several deals for ex-China SAE1006 HRC for at least 20,000 mt at $560/mt CFR around 10 days ago, new offers have been reported at $555/mt CFR, while bids have been heard at around $545-547/mt CFR levels.
Other foreign suppliers have been less aggressive, with indicative offers for ex-Japan and ex-India SAE1006 HRC estimated at $570-580/mt CFR for July-August shipments. According to market insiders, talk about a deal for 10,000 mt of ex-Japan HRC signed at $575/mt CFR last week has been circulating in the market, though this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
Thus, the SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has moved to $555/mt CFR, down by $5/mt week on week, since, even though most bids have been heard at below $550/mt CFR level, no deals have been reported so far below $555/mt CFR.
