Posted on 23 Nov 2020
The Vietnamese hot rolled coil import market has surged with suppliers pushing for ever-higher prices during the past week, Kallanish notes.
The quick run-up in the market has resulted in traders reporting a range of prices, probably due to some delays in information dissemination or the talking up of the market by some bullish participants.
Several large re-rollers in Vietnam ordered a 40,000-tonne cargo of 2-2.5mm SAE 1006 HRC from a Chinese mill at $585/tonne cfr on Thursday, Vietnamese and regional traders report. On 16 November, 10,000t of 2-2.5mm thickness SAE 1006 HRC from a popular Chinese mill was ordered at $580/t cfr Vietnam. Both cargoes are for February shipment.
Offers for SAE 1006 HRC from China mostly rose to $585-590/t cfr Vietnam on Friday, up by around $20/t from the previous week.
A tier 1 Chinese mill was heard on Wednesday to be offering its 100% 2mm thickness SAE 1006 HRC at $580/t fob, Chinese trading sources report. But a regional trader said on Friday the mill’s offers, for February shipment, were at $600/t cfr for "…all this week." A Japanese mill raised its offer for 2mm thickness SAE 1006 HRC to $640/t cfr Vietnam, up by $40/t from the previous week.
A Chinese trader was offering on Thursday 2mm and up SAE 1006 HRC at $587/t cfr Vietnam and 3.8mm-11.8mm thickness SS400 HRC at $585/t cfr. These offers are for end-January shipment from unspecified origins of either China, India and South Korea.
A Vietnamese trader received an offer Thursday for Chinese-origin 3.8mm and up SS400 HRC for February shipment at $570/t cfr Vietnam. "Stocks are low but buyers are not yet ready to give bids," he said on Friday.
There are no offers from India in Vietnam because of better-paying markets elsewhere, including the Middle East and Europe, Indian trading sources say. Indian HRC prices are prevailing at $590-595/t cfr Middle East, a regional trader says. "The market is on fire," he adds.
On Friday, Kallanish assessed 2-2.7mm SAE1006 HRC at $580-585/t cfr Vietnam, $18.5 higher on-week.
Source:Kallanish
