Vietnam: Imported HRC market bearish despite drop in offers

Imported HRC offers to Vietnam have dropped from major exporting nations, weighed down by the low buying interest and expectation of further decline in offers.

Current offers:

1. China HRC (SAE1006) offered at $810/t CFR for Jan'22 shipments, lower by $10 w-o-w.
2. Chinese HRC offers for Apr'22 shipment are assessed around $760/t, CFR Vietnam.
3. Most Indian mills have kept their offers on hold after quoting $855-860/t CFR. However, a private mill reduced the quotes for SAE1006 to around $820-840/t CFR.
4. Japanese HRC export offers have resumed after a gap and are at $840-850/t CFR.
5. No offers were heard from South Korea or Russia this week.

The Vietnamese market has witnessed more disruptions lately alongside a continual decline in global HRC prices. The Chinese HRC (SS400) export offers have been on a continual decline for the past six weeks falling from $975-995/t FOB China in mid-Oct'21 to $775-785/t FOB in the previous week.

The market demand in Vietnam too is low and is being met by the domestic mills after they reduced prices in mid-Nov'21. Furthermore, buyers have held back from booking subsequent amounts of HRCs for imports anticipating a further reduction in offers from exporters.

Most Indian steel mills continue to hold their offers for the market. However, some private mills were heard to be testing the market with lower offers of around $820-840/t CFR. Meanwhile, an export deal was heard to have been concluded at around $830/t CFR basis, but could not be confirmed till the time of publishing of the article.

Outlook
Demand for imported HRCs is likely to remain low in the short term amid the continual decline in offers from most exporting nations. This trend is likely to continue.