Posted on 13 Jun 2022
The Vietnamese hot rolled coil import market continues to be depressed. Some suppliers are lowering offers in a bid to entice buyers but buying interest remains thin, Kallanish notes. “The Vietnamese market is very slow. No one is buying,” a trader says.
A Chinese trader is offering SAE 1006 2-2.5mm thickness HRC from a popular Chinese mill at $750/t cfr Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). The trader is believed to be reselling its position cargoes for June shipments. Offers direct from the Chinese mills are higher however.
Offers from the same Chinese mill and another mill are prevailing at $790/t cfr. “There is no chance at all to close deals,” a Chinese trader says. The Vietnamese market is slow and even selling at $750/t is hard, he says. He expected mill’s prices to come down in the next one or two weeks if there are no orders.
SAE 1006 HRC from a tier 1 Indian mill and a Kazakh mill are also heard offered at $755/t cfr and $760/t cfr respectively. Kallanish maintained SAE 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $750-755/t cfr Vietnam, down $15 on-week.
A Chinese mill’s offer for SS400 3-12mm thickness HRC is pegged at $740/t cfr HCMC. A Vietnamese trader says deals can still take place at $736/t cfr, which was the booking price for a deal for 10,000t on 3 June. “But nobody buys now,” he says. He blames the demand weakness on tightening credit measures imposed by the Vietnamese government. The State Bank of Vietnam has been tightening credit in sectors deemed risky, including the real estate and stock markets. "There are no bookings heard anywhere," a regional trader says. The market seems like it's "really dead."
Meanwhile, there is market speculation on Vietnamese producer, Formosa Ha Tinh's new monthly HRC prices. Last month, the mill set its skin-passed SAE 1006 HRC prices for July shipments at $860/t cif Vietnam. However, the mill is currently giving offers privately to certain customers at $800/t. "There are rumours circulating that the mill could lower its new prices to $770-780/t cfr, a Hanoi-based source says. The mill is expected to release its August-shipment allocations this week.
Source:Kallanish
