Import HRC prices in Vietnam have continued to move within a narrow range this week, influenced by fluctuations in Chinese HRC futures and shifting sentiment among suppliers. Meanwhile, market participants have noted a slight recovery in demand, with several import deals concluded at discounted levels.
More specifically, this week, ex-China Q235 2,000 mm HRC offers, which are not targeted by antidumping (AD) duty, have been voiced at $455-460/mt CFR mainly for end-July shipment, up by $5-10/mt week on week, while offers for Q195 HRC have settled at $445/mt CFR. At the same time, according to sources, during the past few days several deals for around 20,000 mt in total of ex-China Q195 have been signed at $441/mt CFR, for end-July shipment. Besides, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at $470-475/mt CFR, mainly the same as lats week.
Meanwhile, other foreign suppliers have been more active with new offers in Vietnam given less competition with Chinese SAE1006 HRC suppliers due to AD duty. Thus, SteelOrbis has learned that around 20,000 mt of SAE1006 HRC from Indonesia is reported to have been booked to Vietnam at $493/mt CFR for August shipment.
Offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $510-515/mt CFR, while most bids have been still reported at $490-495/mt CFR level.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has remained at $470-495/mt CFR, the same as last week, with the lower end of the range corresponding to the most competitive offers from China, while the higher end corresponds to the tradable price from other foreign suppliers.
As of June 18, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,102/mt ($432/mt), decreasing by RMB 6/mt ($0.8/mt) or 0.2 percent since June 11, while up 0.32 percent compared to the previous trading day, June 17.
