Posted on 15 Jul 2024
China-origin hot rolled coil prices in Vietnam were mostly under pressure last week, Kallanish notes. Aggressive suppliers were willing to accede to buyers' price demands in order to clinch deals.
Offers for Chinese SAE 1006 2-2.5mm thickness HRC slumped to $525-530/tonne cfr Vietnam, down $10 on-week. “The market is very bad,” says a southern Vietnam galvaniser who thinks he would be able to secure material at $525/t cfr.
A leading southern Vietnam reroller booked from a trader 10,000 tonnes of 2-2.5mm thickness SAE 1006 HRC from China for end-August shipment at $525/t cfr on 4 July. It then reduced its bid price last week for another 20,000t to $520/t cfr southern Vietnam.
Some Vietnamese market sources hear that a Hangzhou-based trader accepted the bid for a September cargo at $520/t cfr, while a Chinese trader hears the booking took place at $522/t cfr. Kallanish assessed SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $520-525/t cfr Vietnam, down $15/t week-on-week.
Export orders are decreasing for Vietnamese rerollers, a southern Vietnam trader says. Demand in the EU and US is low, and domestic demand is also seasonally weak. Construction activities will be dampened next month, he notes. August is typically "ghost month", when new construction projects are postponed, he explains.
China-origin 3-12mm thickness Q235 grade HRC was offered at $515-518/t cfr Vietnam last Thursday and Friday, another Vietnamese trader says. However, in tandem with an improved Shanghai Futures Exchange, Chinese mills are now aiming to lift prices. Many mills are offering only 10,000t cargoes of Q235 grade HRC at around $524/t cfr Vietnam, a Chinese trader noted on Friday.
Even suppliers are now trying to sell Japanese and South Korean HRC to Vietnam, Vietnamese trading sources say. These “attractive” offers for 2mm base thickness SAE 1006 HRC at $520-525/t fob or around $545-555/t cfr Vietnam are "very cheap," a Hanoi trader notes Friday.
Source:Kallanish
