Posted on 19 Jun 2023
Buying in Vietnam’s hot rolled coil market has improved on the back of Chinese tailwinds, Kallanish notes.
On Friday, 50% 2mm thickness SAE 1006 HRC from China for shipment by 10 August is offered at $585/t cfr Vietnam and 3mm base Q195 HRC for shipment by end-July at $558/tonne cfr.
“We want to wait,” says a trader in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) who is receiving offers for Q235 and SS400 HRC at $560/t cfr. “It is hard to accept this price,” she adds. Offers were at $550-555/t cfr on 9 June.
A leading domestic stockist/trader is heard to have secured a large quantity of Chinese HRC, mostly for July shipment, in the past week amid the surging Chinese steel futures. Those who hear of the deals mostly heard the deals closed at $570/t cfr, while some heard the bookings at $580/t cfr.
“The market is in uptrend now, that’s a no-brainer. Buyers in Vietnamese are willing to accept higher prices now,” says a bullish trader in southern Vietnam. The buyer probably thinks that prices will rise further, a Hanoi trader says. Rerollers are lacking HRC, he adds.
However, another HCMC trader said he heard that the buyer booked at $565/t cfr and deemed $580/t cfr too high. An Indian trader did not hear of the bookings but thinks that the it would be "extremely risky" if the buyer had booked at $580/t cfr. A Chinese trader hears 50,000-100,000t booked at $560-580/t cfr Vietnam.
“$580/t cfr is not high now,” another Chinese trader said on Friday. Suppliers seeking a base price of $585/t cfr now, he notes. On Thursday, a position cargo for SAE 1006 HRC from a popular Chinese mill was offered at $585/t cfr Vietnam, up from $575/t cfr on Monday. Kallanish maintained SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $575-580/t cfr Vietnam.
Local market sources report that Formosa Ha Tinh and Hoa Phat have sold out their latest offering of domestic HRC allocations, Formosa for August shipments and Hoa Phat for July shipments. The Hanoi trader says he is surprised by this but notes that Formosa’s export sales including to EU are good. The Vietnamese steel market will improve on the Central Bank's cuts in bank interest rates, he says. It will take time though since the main issue now is that end-users lack orders, he notes.
Source:Kallanish
