Posted on 02 Feb 2024
A softening in Vietnam's hot rolled coil market, brought about by a slowing down in Chinese steel futures, has caused a domestic producer to reverse its previous price uptrend, Kallanish notes.
Hoa Phat Dung Quat lowered the list prices for its latest domestic hot rolled coil sales by around $30/tonne, Kallanish notes. The company's quotes for non-skin passed SAE1006 or SS400 grade HRC, due for delivery in April and May, have been set at the equivalent of around $610/t cfr southern Vietnam, excluding VAT.
In VND terms, the latest price of VND 15,000/kg to southern Vietnam is VND 630/kg lower. The mill’s prices to northern and central Vietnam are set at VND 14,970/kg. The weaker China steel futures, falling raw materials costs and the market slowdown on the approaching Lunar New Year (Tet) contributed to the price drop, a source close to the company says
A mill source in Hanoi does not think that there will be much buying interest for Hoa Phat's new HRC allocations because many are already making preparations for the long Tet holidays. “Many buyers will wait [till] after the Tet holiday to make decision. As I know, some mills have stopped operating,” he says.
However, some think that the new prices are reasonable. "I think that they will be able to make sales," a Vietnamese trader says. Hoa Phat had hiked its prices by around $40/t last month.
Source:Kallanish
