Posted on 22 Mar 2021
The Vietnamese hot rolled coil market continues to inch up, Kallanish notes. Buyers are turning to imports once again. Formosa Ha Tinh’s domestic allocations for April/May shipments which were released during the week of 12 March are believed to have sold out.
Indian HRC prices have gone up. Offers for 2mm and up thickness SAE 1006 HRC are now prevailing at $780/tonne cfr Vietnam. A Vietnamese reroller booked a 20,000t cargo of Indian material at $760/t cfr on 15 March. A Chinese mill sold 10,000t of 2mm and up thickness SAE 1006 HRC to another Vietnamese reroller at $755/t cfr on 17 March, Chinese and Vietnamese trading sources report.
Indian SAE 1006 HRC is now offered at $780/t cfr Vietnam, most trading sources say. However, a Vietnamese trader reports on 19 March of an Indian offer at $770/t cfr Vietnam. Japanese and South Korean SAE 1006 2mm thickness HRC is currently offered at $810-820/t cfr Vietnam. "Prices are moving towards $800 because there are few cheap sources in the market," a Chinese trader says.
Many Chinese mills are reluctant to make export offers because they are awaiting official confirmation of a rumoured cut in the export rebate for HRC, Chinese trading sources say. The widely-heard rumour is that the rebate will be reduced from the prevailing 13% to 9% effective 1 April and suppliers have been including clauses in export contracts that required importers to share equally the burden of any potential rebate cut.
Kallanish assessed the import price for SAE 2-2.7mm thickness HRC on 19 March at $760-765/t cfr Ho Chi Minh City, up $12.5/t on-week.
Source:Kallanish
