Vietnam: Formosa Ha Tinh reduces HRC offers for Jan’26 sales

• Hoa Phat cuts HRC prices for Jan-Feb’26 sales
• Typhoon Kalmaegi hampers construction activity

Vietnamese steel giant Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS) has reduced its hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices by approximately $16/tonne (t) for January 2026 sales against November 2025 sales. Following this adjustment, FHS’s HRC prices (SAE1006, skin-passed) stood at around $511/t CIF Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

Domestic demand in Vietnam is currently sluggish following the serious damage and destruction caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi. The storm hampered construction activity and adversely impacted consumer demand. Therefore, market participants have adopted a wait-and-watch approach.

Market updates

1. Hoa Phat trims HRC offers, Baosteel maintains prices: Vietnamese steel major Hoa Phat Group has reduced its HRC (SAE1006, non-skin-passed) prices by $8/t m-o-m for January-February 2026 sales after keeping them stable for November. Post revision, prices in the southern region stood at $520/t or VND 13,680,000/t against $528/t or VND 13,943,756/t, excluding VAT.

Notably, Baosteel, the world’s leading steel manufacturer, has kept HRC prices stable for December sales. This marks the third consecutive month of unchanged pricing, driven by subdued domestic demand. Hot-dip galvanised prices also remained flat m-o-m. Moreover, China’s SHFE HRC futures displayed mixed movements this week, reflecting slow domestic steel demand.

2. Vietnam’s steel imports: Vietnam’s steel import volumes in October 2025 stood at 1.52 million tonnes (mnt), up by 382,266 t or 33% as compared to 1.14 mnt in September 2025. However, on y-o-y basis, steel imports declined by 886,365 t or 37% against 2.41 mnt a year ago.

Outlook

The short-term outlook for the steel market remains cautious and subdued. Vietnamese domestic demand is currently low due to the severe disruption caused by the recent typhoon, which has hampered construction activity. Consequently, demand is anticipated to remain weak as the market takes a wait-and-watch approach for the necessary post-storm recovery and market fundamentals to improve.