While regional suppliers demonstrated more confidence by lifting their hot rolled coil (HRC) offers to Vietnamese customers, the Vietnamese HRC import market has continued to show a two-speed dynamic. Ex-China coils are being traded at the same levels as last week, highlighting the absence of an uptrend, while ex-Malaysia, ex-Indonesia, and ex-Japan offers are moving higher. At the same time, market sources reported talks about a discounted deal for ex-India HRC, suggesting that Indian suppliers may be willing to compromise on prices to secure sales in Vietnam.
More specifically, following a deal for 20,000 mt of ex-China Q235 HRC 2,000 mm at $492/mt CFR Vietnam last week, another 30,000 mt lot have been signed this week at $491/mt CFR for November shipment. At the same time, while most offers from China have settled at $493-500/mt CFR, the market effectively held steady, indicating that ex-China coils have yet to gain upward traction despite stronger sentiment in the region.
In contrast, other HRC suppliers pushed prices higher. Ex-Malaysia SAE1006 HRC 3,000 mm has been offered at $508/mt CFR for December shipment, compared with $500–505/mt CFR earlier this week. Ex-Indonesia SAE1006 HRC 3,000 mm offers have increased to $505–510/mt CFR for November shipment, up $10/mt week-on-week, with market talk pointing to a sizable lot concluded at $505/mt CFR. Japanese mills also lifted their offers for SAE1006 HRC 1,200 mm by $10/mt to $525-530/mt CFR for November-December shipment.
Besides, according to market insiders, following an offer from one of the Indian steelmakers at $515/mt CFR Vietnam this week, a deal for around 30,000 mt has been reported at $507/mt CFR, for November shipment. But this information has not been officially confirmed by the time of publication.
Thus, the SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has moved to $505-507/mt CFR Vietnam, compared with $500–505/mt CFR last week.