Vietnam: Imported scrap trade remains slow on negative steel sentiments

Vietnam’s imported scrap market remained less active despite offers having come down to five-months lows. This trend is showing despite the fact that domestic and overseas prices continued to drop due to sluggish demand from end-users and negative sentiments in China’s finished steel market.

Meanwhile, the rainy season also impacted the domestic market.

The country’s steel mills and buyers were keeping their eye on Japan’s Kanto scrap export tender for a clear price direction. A total of 5,500 tonnes (t) of Japanese H2 scrap have been awarded at an average price of JPY 53,560/t ($399/t) FAS, in Japan’s monthly Kanto Tetsugen ferrous scrap export tender, which concluded last weekend. A Vietnam-based buyer may have won the tender, sources said.

Furthermore, around 10,000 t of Japanese H2 were booked by a steel mill in Vietnam. The cargo was booked at lower offers of $445/t CFR levels, falling sharply by $25/t w-o-w. Now the buyers’ price idea stands at $440/t CFR levels.

Meanwhile,  offers for bulk US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) are at $460/t CFR levels, down by $10-15/t w-o-w.

The procurement prices for domestic H1 and H2 grades are at VND 10,900/kg ($473/t) and VND 10,600/kg ($460/t), respectively. Some mills have lowered their bid prices further. Domestic market demand is usually low in the rainy season. Vietnam’s BF-grade billet export offers stood at around $625/t FOB, stable w-o-w.

Other SE Asia scrap markets overview

• Thailand: Central America-origin HMS 1&2 (70:30) was offered at $390-395/t CFR. Offers have inched down further by $5/t w-o-w. Few deals from different origins are heard to have concluded.
• Indonesia: Imported offers for UK-origin PNS were at $510/t CFR Jakarta, with no firm deals reported. Indonesia’s imports of ferrous scrap were recorded at 92,039 t in April 2022, down 26% m-o-m from 124,460 t in March. Hong Kong was the largest supplier at 33,800 t, followed by Australia and Singapore at 23,000 t and 20,000 t, respectively. However, on a y-o-y basis, imports increased slightly by 2% compared to 90,000 t in April 2021.