Posted on 05 Feb 2024
Vietnam’s hot rolled coil import market is slowing down for the approaching Lunar New Year, Kallanish notes. Market participants are making preparations for the seven-day holiday which officially starts on Thursday.
Similarly, with China also celebrating the Lunar New Year, Chinese mills and suppliers have started to withdraw from the market and are preparing for the holiday. But there are some low-priced offers heard. An offer for 10,000 tonnes of 2mm Chinese SAE 1006 HRC for March/April shipment is being circulated at $585-590/tonne cfr Vietnam. Chinese offers were at around $605/t cfr during the week through 26 January.
Kallanish assessed SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $585/t cfr Vietnam, down $10 on-week.
On Friday, Chinese 3-12mm thickness Q235 HRC offers fell to $557-558/t cfr, down $15/t on-week. “Chinese futures prices are going down sharply,” a trader in Ho Chi Minh City notes. A trader in southern Vietnam hears of a deal struck on Friday afternoon at $554-555/t cfr. He says the deal was for only 2,000-3,000t.
Meanwhile, there is not much movement for Hoa Phat’s latest monthly domestic sales of HRC, for which prices were announced on 1 February.
The company’s prices for non-skin passed SAE1006 or SS400 grade HRC, due for delivery in April and May, were set at the equivalent of around $610/t cfr southern Vietnam, excluding VAT. Sources close to the company say they are waiting for customers’ responses this coming week.
Source:Kallanish
