Posted on 17 Jun 2025
The import market for hot rolled coil in Vietnam remains dull, Kallanish notes. HRC demand has been hit by trade measures on Vietnamese exports of coated steel, and the approaching rainy season has subdued domestic demand.
Chinese HRC is still available in Vietnam despite the ongoing anti-dumping case against such material. Bids are invited at $475/tonne cfr for 1,200mm or 1,219mm width 2-2.5mm thickness SAE 1006 HRC.
Buyers who buy Chinese HRC as substrate for coated steel for re-export to ASEAN are exempt from the preliminary AD duty of 19.38-27.83%. Local trading sources did not hear of deals concluding last week. “Buyers want to wait,” a Ho Chi Minh City trader says.
Bids are also invited for wide-width (2,000mm) 3-12mm Q235 grade HRC, shipment by 31 July, at $462/t cfr Vietnam against the official offer of $465/t cfr. Another offer for same width, thickness and grade HRC for July shipment is heard at $460/t cfr.
Market speculation that the current anti-dumping case will soon extend to wide-width Chinese HRC has not deterred such offers. “Some are still betting [that this will not happen],” a Hanoi trader says.
In early June, a Vietnamese reroller booked 30,000 tonnes of Malaysian 2mm base SAE 1008 HRC for July shipment at $492-493/t cfr. Indonesian 3mm base thickness continues to be offered at $498/t cfr Vietnam. Kallanish assesses SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $490-495/t cfr Vietnam, unchanged week-on-week.
Domestic HRC prices have stabilised amid the anti-dumping action and the loss of output by local producer Hoa Phat Dung Quat.
The producer has managed to restart its damaged blast furnace but full operations of its 1.2 million tonnes/year rated capacity furnace is reportedly some months away. “They [Hoa Phat] need to ensure that the problem will not happen again,” a trader says.
Hoa Phat sources did not respond to questions by Kallanish relating to the incident in May nor on furnace repair progress.
Hoa Phat is heard to have sold 300,000t of HRC for its latest monthly domestic allocations for July shipments. The company maintained its listed prices in early June at the equivalent of around $511/t cfr southern Vietnam. Its rival, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, also announced unchanged domestic HRC prices on 10 June at the equivalent of $508-518/t cfr southern Vietnam for July/August shipment (see Kallanish passim).
Source:Kallanish
