Suppliers dramatically increase Chinese HRC supply to Vietnam

On Friday, the offer prices for Chinese HRC rose in the Vietnamese hot-rolled steel market. It is also seen that suppliers are leaving the market. Sentiment in China's domestic steel market recovered strongly amid some easing of Covid restrictions and a rally in U.S. stocks.

Offers for 3-12mm thick SS400 HRC steel are dominated at about US$530/t according to Vietnam standards, while SAE 1006 HRC grades 2mm and above are dominated at US$550-560/t according to Vietnam standards. francs. Just a week earlier, suppliers had been asking buyers to bid on SS400 hot rolled coil priced at US$505-510/tonne Vietnam francs and SAE 1006 hot rolled coil priced at US$515-520/tonne franc. There were no orders at these new elevated levels, according to trading sources. The latest deals that were known were for several position lots of Chinese SS400 hot-rolled steel at $490/tonne francs and short selling by traders at $500-510/tonne francs. These orders were made during the week of November 4th.

China's popular SAE 1006 hot-rolled mill's offer based on SAE 1006 was $515/t fob on Nov. 10 (or $530/t FOB Vietnam).

“But today they withdrew the offer,” a Chinese trader said on Friday. The Chinese yuan strengthened against the dollar. According to the trader, Chinese exporters could lose about $15 a tonne due to foreign exchange losses using the current exchange rate of 7.1, compared to a low of 7.3 in late October and early November.

Vietnamese hot-rolled steel importers were silent last week as local producer Formosa Ha Tinh is due to publish its new hot-rolled steel prices.

“Everyone expects Formosa to cut prices sharply,” says a Hanoi-based trader. A Vietnamese manufacturer's December shipment price for SAE 1006 HRC uncut strip was set at about $590/t cfr Ho Chi Minh City last month. “New Formosa prices could drop to $520-530/t CFR,” the trader says.

Callanish priced the 2-2.7mm SAE grade HRC at $520-$530 per tonne Vietnamese francs, up $10 from the week.