Posted on 11 Mar 2021
Vietnam’s Formosa Ha Tinh has raised its domestic prices for hot rolled coil in tandem with the buoyant market. It has announced a $45-50/tonne hike compared to its previous price announcement more than two months ago, Kallanish notes.
Formosa announced on 10 March that base SAE1006 HRC for April/May shipments will be pegged at the equivalent of $765/tonne cfr Haiphong and $770/t cfr Ho Chi Minh. SAE1006 HRC for March shipments was priced at $720/t cfr. The price for skin-passed material is $5/t more.
The mill’s latest prices are workable for the current market, Chinese trading sources say. A Tier 1 Chinese mill is already offering its 2mm base SAE 1006 HRC at around $800/t cfr Vietnam. Material from less popular Chinese mills is at the unchanged level from last week at $750-760/t cfr Vietnam.
Vietnamese buyers are less aggressive in the import market because they are awaiting Formosa’s release of fresh HRC offers. They are bidding at up to $740/t cfr Vietnam for Indian SAE 1006 HRC, several traders report.
Sources close to the Indian mill which was heard to have sold a 30,000-tonne cargo of SAE 1006 2mm and up thickness HRC at $745/tonne cfr on 4 March have denied that the booking took place. They say the offer was instead withdrawn. A trader says he received an offer for Indian HRC on 8 March at $750/t cfr, which was not acceptable for buyers in northern Vietnam.
The direction of the Vietnamese HRC market will be clearer next week, a Chinese trader says. He expects that any potential cut in export tax rebates for Chinese HRC exports effective April will be revealed by then. Chinese mills have been insisting that importers share any financial cost in purchase contracts in the event the export rebate is reduced for April shipments onwards.
Source:Kallanish
