Following significant increases in HRC import offers seen last week, at the beginning of this week signs of falling prices have emerged in Vietnam as Chinese traders, who have been the most active sources of import HRC supply to the country, have started to reduce their offers given the worse mood in China’s futures and domestic markets.
More specifically, on Monday, December 19, ex-China SS400 HRC offers have dropped to $580-585/mt CFR, from $585-600/mt CFR offered last week. This price drop is explained by the decrease in ex-China HRC future prices, which by Monday, have lost around RMB 124/mt ($18/mt) since Friday, December 16, coming to RMB 3,981/mt ($571/mt). Besides, domestic HRC prices in China have fallen to RMB 3,980-4,110/mt ($571-589/mt) ex-warehouse on December 19, with the average price level RMB 115/mt ($17/mt) lower than that recorded on December 16, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
At the same time, market insiders have reported only price drops in ex-China SS400 HRC prices so far, while offers for SAE1006 HRC have remained at $610-620/mt CFR. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, a deal for ex-China SAE1006 HRC was reported at $600/mt CFR Vietnam, while most offers came to $610-620/mt CFR by the end of the week. “Prices for SAE1006 HRC are not changing so fast as for SS400 HRC, and Chinese mills are keeping their export offers unchanged today. So, tomorrow we hope to see a clearer picture,” a market insider told SteelOrbis. The lowest price level from Indian suppliers was voiced at $610/mt CFR last week, though, this week no new offers have been heard so far.
The reference price for import SAE1006 HRC in Vietnam has remained at $600-610/mt CFR, given the lack of firm offers at lower levels so far despite the negative mood appearing in China.
