Posted on 16 Mar 2023
Vietnamese producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) has hiked its latest monthly domestic hot rolled coil prices by around $33/tonne. Market participants were expecting the price increase because the Chinese and international HRC markets are buoyant.
The mill announced on 15 March that the April/May-shipment price for non-skin-passed SAE 1006 HRC would be set at the equivalent of around $727/tonne (VND 17,250/kg) cif Vietnam, up from around $694/t cif last month, company sources tell Kallanish. Skin-passed HRC commands a $5/t premium. The mill’s prices for SS400/pipe-making grade HRC are the same as that for re-rolling grade.
"The price is high for Vietnamese buyers," a Chinese trader said on Wednesday. He thinks the producer will focus on the export market rather than sell domestically because Vietnamese users have not been very active for a long while. "The whole market is saying that FHS wants to export," a Vietnamese trader opines.
Trading sources report hearing market chatter that the mill is offering at $760-770/t fob Vietnam but they are unclear of the details. Another Chinese source hears that the mill was offering to export at $760/t fob for the European market, but a Vietnamese mill source says that this rumoured price is only possible for the US or Mexican markets. "There is talk that FHS's export target price is $770-780/t fob and I think there is good reason for FHS to give offers at this level," a Hanoi trader says. While HRC is very strong in the EU and US, "Asia's market is not good now”, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
