Vietnam: Imported HRC offers up w-o-w, sentiments mixed amidst domestic price announcement

Imported Chinese-origin hot-rolled coil (HRC) offers into Vietnam rose w-o-w to $580-585/tonne (t) CFR against $570-575/t CFR last week. Prices rose amid the sharp increase in China's SHFE HRC futures (October contract) in the past week.

Imported HRC offers:

• Chinese HRCs (SAE1006) offers were heard at $580-585/t CFR, up by around $10/t w-o-w against $570-575/t CFR. A deal of HRCs (SS400) of around 3,000 t were heard concluded at around $560/t CFR.
  
  
• Indian mills have not been offering in the Vietnamese market for a while.
  
  
• Meanwhile, no offers were heard from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia this week.
  
  

Chinese SHFE HRC futures (October contract) sharply increased by RMB 102/t ($14/t) w-o-w to RMB 3,794/t ($531/t) on 9 June 2023 against RMB 3,692/t ($517/t) in the preceding week. This increase was majorly due to an expectation of further stimulus policies boosting China's economic recovery, especially in the property market, and partially due to the sintering production cuts in the major cities in Hebei province.

Moreover, market participants were eagerly awaiting Formosa Ha Tinh's (FHS's) price announcement for early-August deliveries. According to market sources, the steelmaker has kept HRC prices unchanged at $580/t CNF HCMC.

It is to be noted that, in the last week of May the steelmaker had further reduced monthly HRC (SAE1006, skin pass) prices for June-July deliveries by $23-40/t, in addition to the $65/t cut announced last week. The company has fixed prices according to the volume required by the buyer amid poor sales in the domestic market. Post-revision prices are in the range of $580-600/t depending on the volumes sold.

Outlook
Chinese steel futures marginally dropped by RMB 13/t ($2/t) d-o-d today to RMB 3781/t ($529/t) against RMB 3794/t ($531/t). The pullback came after the contract rose for four days over the past five trading days. This has further turned market sentiments volatile and led to the drop in HRC export offers by some mills today. However, the outlook remains mixed.