Posted on 22 Jul 2024
China-origin hot rolled coil prices in Vietnam remain depressed last week, Kallanish notes. Low demand and market bearishness have persisted. Indonesia-based regional HRC market entrant Dexin started offering in the market at a value some sources deemed to be too high.
Last Friday, 10,000 tonnes of 3-12mm thickness Q235 grade from China for end-September shipment was transacted at $513/tonne cfr Vietnam. Suppliers subsequently hiked offers in the late afternoon to a slightly higher $514-515/t cfr, Vietnamese trading sources note. “But no customer accepted,” a trader says.
Chinese rerolling HRC prices also fell. A small, 5,000t lot comprising 50% of 2mm thickness SAE 1006 grade HRC was heard booked on 17 July at $519/t cfr Vietnam. “This is a crazy price for a small volume though,” a Hanoi trader notes.
An offer for nearly 5,000t of SAE 1006 HRC from a certain Chinese mill, comprising 50% of 2mm thickness and the rest 2.3mm, 2.5mm and 2.7mm thickness, was circulating at $520/t cfr Vietnam last week. Most Chinese SAE 1006 2mm up thickness HRC offers are at around $530/t cfr Vietnam, local traders say. “I do not hear of offers from any major mills recently as they are still looking for $510/t fob [China],” a regional trader says. Freight is estimated at around $12-13/t between China and Vietnam.
Formosa’s discount of $20/t for large domestic buyers contributed to the drop in Chinese prices, a reroller says. The mill sold out allocations after reducing its domestic sales prices to $535/t cif Hai Phong and $540/t cif Ho Chi Minh City, another Hanoi trader notes. These prices applied to rerollers with regular orders and large purchase quantities, usually 20,000t.
Meanwhile, Dexin Steel started offering its newly commissioned HRC last week at $535/t cfr Vietnam. “No one will buy at this level,” the first Hanoi trader says. Dexin’s prices must be in line with Chinese material because the mill’s HRC does not have the CE mark, he says. This will mean that Vietnamese mills will not be able to export coated coil using Dexin HRC substrate to the EU, he notes.
Kallanish assessed SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $520-525/t cfr Vietnam, unchanged week-on-week.
Source:Kallanish
