Following the significant decline in import HRC prices, in ex-China prices in particular, over the past month, this week Vietnamese producer Hoa Phat Group has announced its new offers for domestic customers, decreasing them by around $40/mt month on month. However, given the slight rebound in HRC futures prices in China this week, Chinese traders have decided to increase their export offers to Vietnamese buyers as well, though the sustainability of a further price recovery is still questionable.
Specifically, on April 1, Hoa Phat’s prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 for mainly June shipment have been announced at VND 13,710-13,740/kg ($548-550/mt), 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 $40/mt lower than last month.
Such move was expected by most Vietnamese customers, as during March ex-China offers for both SAE1006 and SS400 HRC lost more than $30/mt, falling to $555/mt CFR and $510-520/mt CFR, respectively. However, the latest offers for ex-China Q235/SS400 HRC have been reported at $518-522/mt CFR levels, versus the deal price at $510/mt CFR as of yesterday, April 1. Besides, as of today, April 2, offers for ex-China Q195 HRC have gained $10-15/mt since the weekend, reaching $510-515/mt CFR. This rebound is mainly explained by the recovery of HRC futures prices in China, which increased by 2.62 percent to RMB 3,688/mt ($526/mt) compared to the previous trading day, April 1.
Import offers for SAE1006 HRC, however, have remained rare in Vietnam with the SteelOrbis refence price moving to $555-560/mt CFR, against $555/mt CFR last week, based on ex-China indicative offers, while no deals have been reported so far.