Posted on 14 Sep 2021
Vietnam’s hot rolled coil market remains under pressure, Kallanish notes. A lockdown in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City to control rising Covid-19 infections has been extended for another two weeks until end-September.
Domestic mill Hoa Phat lowered on Monday the domestic monthly prices for its new HRC allocations. Its price reduction is smaller than that of more established producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel.
Hoa Phat reduced its prices for November shipments by VND 300/tonne ($13/t), whereas Formosa Ha Tinh cut its prices by VND 935/t last Friday. Hoa Phat’s dollar-equivalent HRC prices are unchanged from last month because of the strengthening of the Vietnamese dong over the period.
Hoa Phat’s prices for non-skin passed SAE 1006 HRC for November shipments are at $900/t cif Haiphong and $905/t cif Ho Chi Minh City. Its prices for SS400 grade HRC are $7/t lower. Trading sources in Vietnam had earlier expected a deeper price cut which would place the mill's prices at under $900/t cif Vietnam. "Let's see how Hoa Phat sells its new allocations," a Vietnamese trader said on Monday.
Formosa’s non-skin passed SAE1006 HRC prices for shipments in November are $20/t higher than Hoa Phat's at $920/t cif Haiphong and $925/t cif Ho Chi Minh City. Formosa charges an extra $5/t for skin-passed HRC. For other HRC grades, namely SG255, SG295 and Q355/A572/SS490, the extras are $25/t, $35/t and $15/t respectively. Actual HRC purchase prices vary according to factors such as the particular customer and order quantities.
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City authorities' decision to extend lockdown restrictions beyond 15 September was widely expected. “There are no signs of [Covid] infections decreasing. Most provinces and cities in Vietnam are under lockdown," a Vietnamese trader opines.
Source:Kallanish
