On February 2, Vietnamese HRC producer Hoa Phat Group announced its new prices for March and April delivery, increasing them by around $8-9/mt month on month. The decision has been mainly attributed to the absence of offers for cheap non-VAT HRC from China, while other foreign suppliers have been more bullish despite the slow demand in Vietnam.
Specifically, Hoa Phat’s prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 and SS400 HRC have been announced at VND 13,490-13,520/kg ($518-520/mt) CIF, where the lower end of the range corresponds to prices in northern and central Vietnam, while the higher price is found in the south. Thus, the current price is around $8-9/mt lower than last month.
However, according to sources, most local customers’ price ideas are still reported at $500/mt CIF and lower, the same as last month.
In the meantime, given the imposition of export licenses in China, traders who had earlier offered their non-VAT material at cheaper prices have left the Vietnamese market, with the indicative offers for ex-China Q235 HRC reported at $485-490/mt CFR for February shipment. Meanwhile, according to sources, there has been talk about a deal for ex-China 1 mm Q195 HRC totaling around 20,000 mt signed at around $530-535/mt CFR, but this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
At the same time, offers for ex-India SAE1006/SS400 HRC have been voiced at $500/mt CFR, compared to deal prices at $487-492/mt CFR a few weeks ago, though most bids are still voiced at $490-495/mt CFR levels. Offers for ex-Japan and ex-South Korea HRC have been voiced at $500-505/mt CFR and $510-515/mt CFR, respectively.
Thus, the SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has settled at $495-500/mt CFR.