Chinese HRC Deals Continue to Grow in Vietnam

In the Vietnamese hot rolled coil market, prices for Chinese export offers continue to rise due to a strong recovery in China's domestic futures markets. However, the depressed Vietnamese market will continue to limit any strong uptrend in prices.

Chinese offers for 3-12mm SS400 HRC for January shipment rose to $555-560/t cfr last week and even reached $565/t cfr on Friday. This is compared to $545/t cfr in the week of November 25th. Some Chinese and Vietnamese trade sources report that deals were made during the week at a price of $540 per ton.

There may be buyers of Chinese hot-rolled steel, despite the fact that domestic prices fluctuate around the level of Chinese prices, which is equivalent to about 540 US dollars per tonne of francs. “These buyers expect prices to rise in the future,” says a Vietnamese trader.

But another believes that end-users will continue to turn to domestic hot-rolled products as they prefer faster deliveries rather than waiting around two months for new import orders. Chinese HRC orders could be possible if delivery is fast, up to seven days, he said. Domestic stocks of hot-rolled steel are depleting, but ships carrying Chinese hot-rolled steel are expected to arrive this month. Domestic factories in Vietnam are turning to export markets as well as cutting production to cope with lower domestic sales.

The Vietnamese market is more relaxed for HRC rolling. Offers for Chinese steel SAE 1006 HRC 2 mm thick and above dominate at $580-585/t Vietnamese francs, compared to $560-570/t a week earlier. But some small Chinese factories are offering lower prices, almost the same as the SS400 brand, Vietnamese trade sources say. It is heard that not a single deal on the import of hot-rolled coils has been concluded recently.

Imported hot rolled SAE grade 2-2.7mm at US$550/tonne in Vietnam, up US$12.5 in a week.