A few major Indian steel producers were heard to have resumed offering imported HRCs (SAE1006) to Vietnam this week after a long pause of about two months. The offers quoted this week for SAE1006 grade stand around $850/t CFR Vietnam and are likely for June-July shipments as per market sources. Indian mills had stopped offering after the last quote at $895/t CFR Vietnam towards the end of February.
Low buying interest pushes mills to resume offering: Indian mills had shifted focus to other markets like the Middle East and Europe which were fetching higher realisations. For instance, SteelMint’s HRC price assessment to the UAE stood around $905/t CFR towards the end of February and spiked to $1,105/t CFR towards end-March. However, the offers started to decline after this but still stayed higher than the price expectation in the Vietnamese market. Meanwhile, the present week’s assessment showed HRC offers at $890-920/t CFR UAE, which are still higher compared to indications for the Vietnamese market.
Similarly, SteelMint’s assessments for Indian origin HRC S275 have come down from $1,370/t CFR Antwerp seen towards end-March to $1,125/t CFR this week.
Vietnamese buyers await price revision from domestic players: The Vietnam-based buyers continue to show higher preference for the domestic material which have remained stable since the beginning of CY22. Chinese traders have also found it difficult to conclude export deals in the market as buyers took to imported HRCs only after the domestic supplies had dried up. Logistical challenges such as high delivery lead time, issues around availablity of vessels and containers and the recent disturbance due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have remained the major factors behind slow buying interest in imported HRCs.
The imported HRC (SAE1006) offers to Vietnam from China dropped steeply by $50-60/t this week as mills turned aggressive in booking cargoes for exports. Currently, the offers stand at around $790/t CFR contrasted against last week’s levels of $840-850/t CFR.
Moreover, buyers in Vietnam are waiting for the domestic mills Formosa Ha Tinh and Hoa Phat to announce their prices for July and early-August sales, which are expected in the next few days. Market participants except a steep reduction against last offers. Last month, Formosa Ha Tinh increased its prices by $20/t and was offering HRCs (SAE1006, skinpasses) at $950-955/t CIF Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).
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