Posted on 13 Jun 2023
Market participants in Vietnam generally think that Formosa Ha Tinh Steel's (FHS)latest domestic prices for hot rolled coil will find market acceptance, Kallanish notes. However, some noted that demand for coated steel is still weak.
The mill announced on Monday that it will maintain its skin passed SAE 1006 HRC unchanged from last month at $585-605/tonne cif Ho Chi Minh (HCM)/Hai Phong port. Its non-skin passed SAE 1006 HRC is tagged at $5/t lower. The lower price of $585/t cfr applies for bookings of minimum 20,000t and at $605/t for tonnages of less than 500t. (see below)
FHS's prices are acceptable, say traders. “Hoa Phat’s prices were set at $570/t cfr last week and FHS’s quality is better-received,” a HCM trader says. While Chinese SAE 1006 HRC offers may be $5-10/t cheaper, Vietnamese mills will be able to export to the EU, Mexico and USA without trade barriers using Vietnamese HRC substrate, another trader says. Also, the other advantage is the ability to pay in VND and not USD for Vietnamese HRC, he adds. Bids are now invited for a 5,000t position lot of SAE 1006 2-2.5mm thickness HRC from a popular Chinese mill at $575/t cfr, down from $580/t cfr last Friday. The cargo is due for shipment by 10 August. Last Friday, SAE 1006 position cargoes from a certain Chinese mill were heard offered at $555/t cfr for prompt June shipment.
"FHS' HRC prices are not attractive," a Hanoi trader says. Rerollers will find it difficult to absorb the announced prices because their coated steel exports are facing slow demand and weak prices for August/September, he says. “I don’t think any buyer is going to book 20,000t,” a regional trader says. The market situation will be clearer this week, a Hanoi mill source says. “It will really depend of China’s market trend,” he says.
Source:Kallanish
