Posted on 30 Oct 2023
The Vietnamese import market for hot rolled coil quietened down on Friday due to a spike in Chinese strip export prices, Kallanish notes.
Offers for Chinese-origin 3mm base thickness Q195 and 3-12mm thickness Q235 HRC have been raised by around $10-15/tonne to $530-535/t cfr and $535-540/t cfr Vietnam respectively, traders said on Friday.
Some deals were concluded last Monday and Tuesday at recent lows of $518/t cfr for Q235 grade material. While some suppliers are inviting bids at $532/t cfr for Q235, “everyone wants to wait and see”, a trader in Ho Chi Minh city says.
“Offers are crazy now,” a Hanoi trader observes. The trader heard some deals for Q195 HRC at $525/t cfr on Thursday. After that, offers shot up to at least $530-535/t cfr on Friday. Offers for 2mm and up thickness SAE 1006 HRC are higher by $20/t to $570/t cfr.
There has not been much import buying for SAE 1006 HRC in Vietnam in recent weeks. Re-rollers are more inclined to purchase domestic HRC. Formosa Ha Tinh lowered domestic prices for its latest HRC allocations last Tuesday (see Kallanish passim).
Kallanish assessed SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $560/t cfr Vietnam, up $5 on-week.
Source:Kallanish
