The Vietnamese hot rolled coil (HRC) market continues to face challenges in finalizing import deals, as demand remains sluggish. Both domestic and export demand for coated steel remains weak, reflecting the overall slow pace of market activity. At the same time, while interest in ex-China HRC has remained weak due to antidumping duties, Vietnamese buyers have been more interested in ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC given the rather competitive offers for the Japanese material.
Offers for ex-China 2,000 mm Q235 HRC in Vietnam have been voiced at $465-467/mt CFR for end-of-June shipment, down by $3/mt week on week. Besides, offers for Q355 grade have settled at $480-485/mt CFR, while no firm offers have been reported for ex-China SAE1006 HRC, with only indicative prices assessed at $485-490/mt CFR levels, mainly the same as last week.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been reported at $510-520/mt CFR, and, according to sources, most bids have been voiced at $500-505/mt CFR levels, with several deals reported to have been signed at the abovementioned level. Besides, offers for ex-Indonesia SAE1006 HRC have been estimated at around $510/mt CFR and above for end-of-June shipment.
At the same time, the leading HRC producer in Vietnam, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS), has been postponing the official announcement of its new HRC prices for domestic customers, mainly due to the unclear market situation and the continuous fluctuations of import HRC prices.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has remained at $485-505/mt CFR, down by $5/mt on the lower end of range.