Vietnamese Formosa cuts prices for hot rolled steel

The Vietnamese HRC market was sluggish last week. Vietnamese company Formosa Ha Tinh has cut prices for hot rolled coil for January /February shipments. The price cut by the leading manufacturer is quite realistic due to the downturn in the market.

On November 12, the mill announced that HRC prices had dropped $ 40 per month. Material that has undergone training is subject to a surcharge of $ 5 per ton.

According to a Chinese trader, the new prices for HRC Formosa reflect the market. However, there are still offers in January for the Chinese SS400 /Q195 HRC starting at $ 800 per ton in Vietnam. In addition, a Vietnamese seller /trader is known to have ordered 2.3mm and above SAE 1006 HRC in China at $ 835 /t in Vietnam. A Vietnamese trader heard that a buyer ordered 30,000 tonnes on November 10. Trade sources say the Chinese mill's weak domestic sales may have boosted sales.

According to a second Vietnamese trader, another Chinese mill's SAE 1006 HRC offer prevails at $ 845 per ton in January. However, he said not many buyers are interested in filing bids for imported materials because demand is very weak. Earlier this week, offers surfaced for new production of 2mm thick Indian and Kazakh HRCs at $ 840 per tonne in Vietnam. According to the trader, these offers are still valid on November 12th. However, some others say that suppliers withdrew these offers from the market after Chinese steel futures rallied in the middle of the week.

The direction of the Chinese HRC market remains unclear, according to Chinese trade sources. Steel prices rose on November 11 and fell the next day. “It was a day trip,” says a Chinese trader of the fast moving market. Kallanish lowered its SAE 2-2.7mm HRC to $ 835-845 per tonne in Ho Chi Minh City, down $ 17.5 per tonne from over a week.