Posted on 17 Apr 2023
Vietnamese producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel's (FHS) new monthly domestic hot rolled coil prices are deemed to be too high, Kallanish notes. Imported Chinese materials are much more competitively priced.
The mill announced on 14 April that the June-shipment price for non-skin-passed SAE 1006 HRC would be set at the equivalent of $682/tonne cif Vietnam, down from $727/t cif last month, company sources tell Kallanish. Skin-passed HRC commands a $10/t premium at $692. The mill’s prices for SS400/pipe-making grade HRC are $687/t cif.
Chinese trading and Vietnamese market sources say that the prices are too high for the Vietnamese domestic market. “I think that they can only export at this level,” a Vietnamese reroller in southern Vietnam says. Another says that the Vietnamese producer “always thinks that their material should be at a high (price) level.” FHS was actively exporting HRC to Europe last month. Demand from Europe has since slowed down, Vietnamese market sources say.
Meanwhile, Chinese mills are offering SAE 1006 2-2.5mm thickness HRC at around $655/t cfr Vietnam upwards, Chinese trading sources say. But the Vietnamese import market continues to be soft because of the availability of low-priced small cargoes from certain traders.
Earlier in the week, 2mm and up thickness SAE 1006 HRC from a certain Chinese mill was offered at $620/t cfr Ho Chi Minh City and subsequently its offer price fell to $616-617/t cfr on Thursday.
An HCMC trader reports hearing that a small lot of 5,000-7,000t was booked at around $615/t cfr. “The volume is not big but it affects the market,” he says. He describes the price as “crazy” and believes that trader is short-selling the cargo because the larger Chinese mills are offering SAE 1006 HRC at around $650/t fob.
There is also an offer for 3,000t of 2-2.7mm thickness SAE 1008 HRC at $625/t cfr as well an offer for Q195 3mm thickness HRC from either of two mills at $595/t cfr. These cargoes are for shipment by 10 June and subject to reconfirmation. “The Vietnamese market is very poor,” the trader says.
Kallanish assessed imported SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $630-640/t cfr Vietnam, down $17.5 from last Friday.
Source:Kallanish
