Posted on 23 Mar 2022
Export prices for Chinese-origin hot-dipped galvanized steel are touching those for cold rolled coil in Southeast Asia, Kallanish notes. This price distortion comes amid steel and raw material supply disruptions arising from the Russia-Ukraine war.
Annealed cold rolled 1mm base thickness coil from lower-tier mills in China is currently offered at $980/tonne cfr Manila. Offers for Z80 1mm base HDG are also now at $980/t cfr Manila, Philippine trading sources say. The offers are from private Chinese mills, a Manila trader says, for May/June shipments. A Chinese trader quotes annealed CRC export prices at $930/t fob and for Z120 HDG at $970-980/t fob. Freight from China to Manila is around $35-40/t.
Prices peaked for HDG at $1,020/t cfr, lasting for less than a week before the correction in Chinese steel futures in early March. At that time, Chinese CRC export prices were at $950-960/t cfr. With Covid-19 outbreaks and accompanying lockdowns in China, HDG export prices fell, whereas CRC prices lifted slightly, probably amid shortages of hot rolled coil and slab in Europe.
The trader thinks that flat products buying is quite slow this week due to fears about further disruptions in China and higher prices. Philippine buyers are not buying CRC but several deals for HDG have been struck at $960/t cfr Manila, another trader says. Chinese SS400 3-12mm thickness HRC prices have corrected down to $900/t cfr Manila.
In Vietnam, domestic prices have moved up to the equivalent of around $1,000/t ex-works for annealed cold rolled 1mm base coil and around $1,180/t for Z120 1mm base HDG. "Demand is still bad," a Vietnamese trader says. Users are only buying when they secure projects, and not for large quantities, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
