Vietnamese HRC market quiet as holiday beckons

On Friday, Chinese SAE 1006 2-2.5mm thickness HRC is heard offered at $608/tonne cfr Vietnam. This offer can be brought down to $603/t cfr, which is the same level as a booking from the same mill last Monday. A leading Chinese mill’s SAE 1006 HRC offer at $620/t cfr was unchanged from the previous Friday.

An Indian mill was offering its SAE 1006 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $603/t cfr, which is slightly higher than its previous order at $600/t cfr the previous Friday.

Buying is slow amid the approaching Labour Day holiday in Vietnam and China, trading sources say. Earlier in the week, a Vietnamese mill ordered SAE 1006 HRC from a Chinese mill at $600/t cfr, a trader reports.

There was some lower-price deals heard late last week. A Vietnamese stockist booked specifiable 2-2.5mm SAE 1006 HRC from China at $595-600/t cfr on Thursday. It sold at a low price and was a position cargo, a trader notes. Offers for position cargoes have risen to above $605/t cfr.

There is market chatter of a Chinese SAE 1006 HRC deal at $596/t cfr Vietnam, but traders pinpoint its conclusion was sometime during the April 21 week. Buying interest is very weak at above $600/t cfr,  a trader in Vietnam says.  

Kallanish’s weekly assessment for SAE 1006 grade 2-2.7mm thick HRC imports was raised last Friday to $600-605/t cfr Vietnam, compared to the previous week’s $598-605/t cfr.