Steel market activity in Vietnam showed signs of slowing down this week. The major HRC exporting countries held back their offers with the Tet Holidays (20-26 January, 2023) around the corner, informed a source.
HRC market sentiments improved in the later half of December pushing up import offers. This in turn led to a price hike announcement by domestic mill Formosa Ha Tinh by $30/t to $640/t CIF HCMC for March and early-April shipments.
Imported HRC offers:
China: Last heard offers from China were at $650/t CFR Vietnam towards last weekend. This was up by $20/t against $630-640/t CFR at the beginning of the previous week.
The majority of Chinese mills have kept offers on hold. China is observing the Lunar New Year holidays (21-27 January) during the same period as the Tet holidays in Vietnam. Therefore, holiday lull will descend on the market over the next week.
India: Indian mills have been largely focused on high realisations in the Middle Eastern and European markets. Thus there are limited quotes in the market. Last week’s indications were at $630-640/t CFR.
No offers were heard from Russia, Japan and South Korea this week.
Outlook:
The Vietnamese market is expected to remain inactive next week. However, market participants informed that prices are likely to stay buoyant in the post-holiday period. Chinese mills are also likely to come up with higher offers after the holidays, thereby maintaining the upward momentum in the market.
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