Vietnam’s import hot rolled coil (HRC) market has remained subdued over the past week, with offers from key suppliers largely unchanged, while buyers have continued to press for discounts amid weak demand. Although some mills have attempted to lift offers slightly, trading activity has remained weak, with sentiment weighed down by sluggish consumption and softening Chinese HRC futures prices.
Offers for ex-China Q235 HRC 2 mm, free from anti-dumping duty, have settled at $498-500/mt CFR levels, mainly the same as at the end of last week, while offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at around $510-520/mt CFR levels.
Meanwhile, following a deal for 30,000 mt of ex-Malaysia SAE1006 HRC signed at $502/mt CFR for early October shipment to Vietnam last week, this week most ex-Malaysia offers have been estimated at around $520/mt CFR.
Offers from Indonesia and Japan for SAE1006 HRC have been heard at $510/mt CFR and $515/mt CFR, respectively, almost the same as last week. Ex-South Korea offers for the same grade have been voiced $520/mt CFR, the same as last week.
Furthermore, according to sources, this week one of the Indian HRC mills has started to offer some limited volumes to Vietnamese customers at around $525/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $505-510/mt CFR, versus $502/mt CFR last week, since, even though most import offers have been voiced at above $510/mt CFR, Vietnamese customers keep pushing for additional discounts, emphasising the low demand in the country.
As of August 21, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,375/mt ($473/mt), decreasing by RMB 60/mt ($8.3/mt) since August 14, while declining by 0.44 percent compared to the previous trading day, August 20.