Posted on 06 Feb 2023
Vietnam’s hot rolled coil market rose last week. However, a weaker Chinese steel futures market has weighed on sentiment in Vietnam, Kallanish notes.
A Vietnamese stockist is heard to have ordered 2mm up thickness Chinese SAE 1006 HRC at $660/tonne cfr Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) last week. Offers are currently prevailing at $670/t cfr. Trading sources had anticipated that offers would hit $680-690/t cfr Vietnam when the market reopened after the Lunar New Year. Kallanish assessed imported SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $660/t cfr Vietnam, up $20/t on-week.
The SAE 1006 HRC segment is faring better than SS400 grade, a trader in HCMC says. Bookings for 3-12mm thickness SS400/Q195 from smaller Chinese mills closed at $620-625/t cfr on 1 and 2 February. “From what I gathered, the lowest deal was at $620/t. Prices can be lower today, but many buyers hesitated when the [Chinese steel] futures market fell sharply,” the trader commented on Friday.
“Customers are waiting for the market to settle after the Chinese market price adjustments. But I think prices will not fall significantly,” a Hanoi trader observes. Chinese 3-12mm SS400 HRC transacted at $620-623/t cfr Vietnam during the week through 13 January.
Meanwhile, Hoa Phat Dung Quat has sold out all its domestic HRC allocations for March/early-April shipments, which were released to the market last Wednesday. The mill sold out an estimated 180,000-200,000 tonnes, some trading sources estimate. The mill had set its non-skin passed SAE1006 or SS400 grade HRC at the equivalent of around $650/t (VND 15,300/kg) cfr Haiphong and $652/t cfr HCMC.
Source:Kallanish
