Trade activity has been very limited in Vietnam’s HRC import market as many Chinese sellers have started to leave the market for Lunar New Year. Besides, market insiders believe that Chinese big mills are likely to maintain their prices before the holiday break which will keep traders from sourcing cheap cargoes.
This week while Vietnamese buyers’ bids for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been still voiced at below $600/mt CFR level, most offers from Chinese supplier shave been still estimated at $605-610/mt CFR. At the same time, according to sources, talk about a deal for Chinese origin SAE1006 HRC signed at $585-595/mt CFR Vietnam has been circulating in the market, but this information has been denied by most market insiders by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, ex-China SS400 HRC offers have been estimated at $565-570/mt CFR Vietnam, the same as last week, while several bookings for Q195/Q235 HRC have been reported at $563/mt CFR, with offers standing at $565/mt CFR, the same as last week.
In the meantime, Indian suppliers have been more active in Vietnam this week, with a deal for around 30,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC reportedly signed $605/mt CFR Vietnam for February shipment. Talk about another ex-India deal for 20,000 mt at $595/mt CFR Vietnam has also been circulating in the market, but this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. At the same time, most offers for ex-India SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at above $610/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has rolled back to $600-605/mt CFR, against $600/mt CFR, as although most bids for ex-China HRC have been voiced at below $600/mt CFR, new deal for ex-India HRC have been voiced at $605/mt CFR level this week.
