Posted on 21 Oct 2019
The fall in the Vietnamese hot rolled coil import market slowed down during the last week. Certain suppliers are resisting lowering prices, Kallanish understands.
An offer for Indian 2-2.7mm thickness SAE 1006 rerolling HRC at $418/tonne cfr Vietnam was the lowest heard till Thursday. Subsequently, offers lifted to $420-425/t cfr, the level reported on 11 October.
“Suppliers of Indian HRC are not dropping prices now,” an Indian trader notes. Mills in South Korea and Japan are aiming to export large quantities, especially to China, traders report. An offer for South Korean HRC is heard at $420/t cfr China. However, Chinese trading sources say that Chinese importers are only sourcing for material under $410/t cfr, or else it is not profitable.
But a Vietnamese trader says there were still a couple of suppliers willing to confirm orders for SAE 1006 HRC from India on Friday at $417-419/t cfr Vietnam.
Russian SAE 1006 big-coil 2mm and up HRC, typically used for pipemaking, is currently offered at $410/t cfr Vietnam, $10/t lower on-week. A Vietnamese mill placed a firm bid for this Russian coil at $390/t cfr but was unsuccessful, a Vietnamese trader said on Friday. The buying price would be around $400-410/t cfr Vietnam, he added.
A South Korean mill was offering SAE 1006 2mm HRC at $423/t cfr Vietnam but did not accept a counterbid at $420/t cfr, he observed.
Earlier last week, 20,000t of 100% 2mm thickness Japanese rerolling grade SAE 1006, for December shipment, was ordered at $430/t cfr Vietnam. There was also an order for Indian 3mm and up thickness SS400 HRC from India at $420/t cfr.
Kallanish lowered its assessment for 2-2.7mm SAE1006 HRC on Friday to $417-425/t cfr Vietnam, down $4 on-week.
