Posted on 02 Apr 2021
Vietnamese re-rollers are acceding to higher prices for hot rolled coil imports, Kallanish notes. Many Chinese mills have stopped giving out export offers in Vietnam amid continued uncertainties relating to a rumoured cut in Chinese export rebates.
An order for a 20,000-tonne cargo for June shipment of 2mm thickness HRC from a tier 1 Chinese mill concluded at $860/tonne cfr Vietnam on 29 March. The buyers have agreed to equal sharing of any change in the Chinese export rebate.
Fresh firm bids for the Chinese mill’s June-shipment material have risen to $880/t cfr, a local trader said on Thursday. But the Chinese mill has now hiked its offer to $900/t cfr and will only consider bids at a minimum of $890/t cfr, he adds. A Chinese trader speculates the mill has hiked its prices to $900/t cfr because it has factored in a 0% export rebate.
Re-rollers will pay a premium for these HRC products because they can be rolled down to 0.2mm thickness, he explains. Most other-origin HRC transacted at lower prices can only be rolled down to 0.35mm thickness. “The thinner gauge coated steel produced would be consumed domestically,” he adds.
A re-roller ordered a 30,000t cargo of Indian 2-2.7mm thickness SAE 1006 HRC from a tier 1 Indian mill at $840-845/t cfr Vietnam on 29 March. The cargo is due for June/early July shipment, a Vietnamese trader says. Previous orders from the same mill took place at $810/t cfr the week before.
But the Indian mill has since withdrawn all export sales and offers, Kallanish understands. “I think that they want to monitor what happens in China in the event that there is an export rebate cut,” a regional trader says. Other Indian mills have also been absent in the Vietnamese market this week.
Source:Kallanish
