The price range in Vietnam’s import HRC market has remained very wide this week as traders and small mills from China have been decreasing their offers and selling some volumes for SS400 HRC at below $620/mt CFR, and offering SAE1006 coils at below $650/mt CFR, while all major mills in China and beyond have been asking prices significantly above these levels.
This week, the price range for imported SAE1006 from different sources has been at $635-700/mt CFR Vietnam, according to reports from market sources. The lower end of the range - $635-640/mt CFR - corresponds to offers from traders and small mills, such as Anfeng, Baotou, Donghua, Zouhgheng. Meanwhile, other mills have been offering their materials at around $655/mt CFR Vietnam, while big mills, like Benxi Steel, Shagang, Baosteel, etc., have been offering SAE1006 HRC at as high as $675-680/mt CFR Vietnam, according to market insiders.
Meanwhile, in SS400 HRC segment, the gap between traders’ and mills’ offers has been even wider. In particular, according to sources, smaller mills and traders in China have been offering SS400 HRC at around $620/mt CFR Vietnam, down by $10-15/mt week on week, with several deals for 5,000-10,000/mt in total reportedly done at $615-616/mt CFR this week. However, official offers for ex-China SS400 HRC from major mills have been at around $660/mt CFR.
“Mills from China have not been ready to drop prices even though futures prices have been falling slightly. So, it is hard to say what the current market level is, as the gap between offers is too big,” a Vietnamese trader told SteelOrbis.
In the meantime, there has been a lack of offers from non-Chinese suppliers in Vietnam. Talk about a deal for 10,000 mt of ex-Japan SAE1006 signed at $700/mt CFR has been circulating in Vietnam this week, though this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. The indicative price level for ex-India HRC has been at $700/mt CFR and above, the same as last week, and, according to a source, “India is now just focusing on European and their own local markets, as there they can sell at a much higher price.”
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has moved to $635-655/mt CFR, compared to $650-670/mt CFR last week, given some occasional ex-China offers at a lower level which appeared in Vietnam this week, and Vietnamese customers’ continuous resistance to higher offers, though this price level reflects buyers’ price ideas as more clarity is awaited in the market given the absence of new deals.