Posted on 19 Dec 2022
The Vietnamese hot rolled coil market has moved up strongly amid support from domestic mills which recently announced their latest monthly prices, Kallanish notes. However, since these producers' prices are competitive against imports, they may limit further price gains for China HRC imports.
Hoa Phat Group officially announced prices for non-skin passed HRC for February/March shipment at the equivalent of around $595/t cfr Vietnam. The mill’s prices were announced the day after Vietnam’s other strip producer, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS), announced its non-skin-passed SAE 1006 HRC February-shipment at the equivalent of $605/t cfr. Both mills announced the same price for their respective SAE 1006 and SS400 grades.
Hot Phat’s prices are reasonable when compared with Formosa, a Ho Chi Minh trader says. “The domestic market is very slow,” he notes. “While Chinese prices have increased quickly, Vietnam has not followed these prices yet,” he adds. Formosa’s rerolling HRC is widely regarded as the market reference for domestic SAE 1006 HRC.
Both mills’ prices are competitive when compared to Chinese HRC prices which have shot up incessantly in recent weeks. Chinese SS400 grade HRC is currently offered at $600-605/t cfr Vietnam. Chinese SAE 1006 HRC offers were at $610-620/t cfr. "Some offers for SAE 1006 HRC were withdrawn," a Hanoi trader reports on Friday.
A 30,000-tonne parcel for SAE 1006 2mm and up thickness HRC from a Chinese mill booked at $590/t fob or $600/t cfr Ho Chi Minh (HCM) during the 16 December week, several trading sources report. A trader may have secured the cargo, a Chinese trader says. Kallanish assessed imported SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $600/t cfr Vietnam, up $37.5 on-week.
Several Chinese-origin SS400 HRC cargoes for prompt December/January shipment were also booked at $595/t cfr HCM on 15 December. The strong market uptrend may not be sustainable, a Chinese trader says. He points to the downward price correction of some CNY100/t ($14/t) in Chinese HRC futures on Friday (16 December) evening. "Demand is still an issue, especially now with Covid cases exploding here," a Shanghai steel analyst says. "There are fears that there may be more shutdowns due to shortages of workers," she adds.
Source:Kallanish
