Indian Mill Concludes 20,000 MT HRC Export Deal to Vietnam

A major private steel manufacturer, based eastern India heard to have booked around 20,000 MT of HRC to Vietnam towards the end of last week at USD 460/MT CFR basis for Jan deliveries. Major Indian steel manufacturers have further raised HRC export offers by USD 5-10/MT this week, as Vietnamese buyers have increased appetite for Indian origin cargoes over cost-effective imports compared to China.

Thus, the current HRC export offer from Indian steel manufacturers stands at USD 470/MT CFR Ho Chi Minh for Jan'20 shipments, which was USD 455-460/MT last week. However, no major bookings have been reported at increased offers.

However, few market sources based in Vietnam, "Few buyers are still hesitant to purchase and have adopted a wait and watch mode as prices are increasing rapidly in the market."

Imported HRC offers to Vietnam witnesses further increase- Imported HRC offers to Vietnam have witnessed further hike from exporting nations by around USD 10/MT this week.

Current HRC export offers-

1. HRC (SAE 1006) 2mm, China- Chinese mills continue to offer at USD 470-475/MT CFR basis.

2. HRC (SAE 1006) 2mm, Japan- Nippon steel offers stand at USD 480/MT CFR basis. At the beginning of week offers stood at USD 470/MT CFR basis.

3. HRC (SAE 1006) 2mm, South Korean - Hyundai Steel offers stand at USD 470/MT CFR basis. Previous week offers stood at USD 450/MT CFR basis.

4. Vietnam's domestic integrated steelmaker, Formosa is offering HRC (skin pass, SAE 1006) at USD 470/MT CIF basis for Dec-Jan shipments.

Chinese HRC export offers pick up over restricted supply- This week Chinese steel mills have further increased their HRC export offers by USD 15-20/MT on the back of limited supplies amid announced winter production curbs and robust demand prevailing in the domestic market.

Thus, Chinese HRC export offers have increased to USD 460-470/MT FoB China, in contrast with USD 440-455/MT FoB basis in the previous week.

Meanwhile, domestic HRC prices stood at RMB 3,720-3,730/MT, up by RMB 30-50/MT on a D-o-D basis in Shanghai, and RMB 3,670/MT up by 10-20/MT in Tangshan region. Chinese steel mills are enjoying decent demand in the domestic market, along with strengthening prices ahead of the winter season.

CIS-origin HRC export offers inch up on weekly basis- CIS-origin HRC offers moved up on the back of rising raw material prices.

Thus, CIS origin HRC export offers stand at USD 395-405/MT FoB Black Sea, which was USD 390-405/MT FoB basis in the previous week.

Source- SteelMInt Research