Vietnam: Formosa increases HRC list prices by $55/t m-o-m for Feb'23 sales

Vietnamese steel major, Formosa Ha Tinh (FHS), has increased hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices by $55/t m-o-m for February 2023 sales.

Post-revision, FHS's offer price for HRC (SAE1006, skinpassed) stands at $610/t CIF Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) compared with $555/t CIF announced for January sales a month ago. The revised offers for non-skinpassed and pipe-making grade stands at $605/t CIF.

Factors behind offer hike:

1. Rise in Chinese offer: With China easing Covid controls, demand seems to be rebounding and steel prices have reached the bottom of the barrel with no room for further decline. The world's largest steelmaker, Baosteel, and also Shagang have already announced sharp hikes. Baosteel raised monthly HRC prices by RMB 200/t ($29/t) and that of heavy plates by RMB 50/t ($7/t).

2. Hike in imported HRC offers for Vietnam:

• China: Chinese mills offered HRC (SAE1006) at $605-610/t CFR Vietnam, up from the previous week's $585-595/t CFR. Offers for HRCs (SS400) were heard around $590-595/t CFR. China's average FOB prices are up by $35/t in the current month
  
  
• India: Indian mills opened with indications at $560/t CFR at the beginning of last week and then withdrew after raising indications to $580-600/t CFR towards the weekend. Offers rose by around $30/t from $563/t CFR seen in the previous month.
  
  

3. Vietnam's steel exports rise marginally: Vietnam's steel exports edged up by 1% m-o-m to 518,814 tonnes (t) in Nov'22 against 515,290 t a month ago, as per data maintained with SteelMint.