China's export prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) had edged down further during the week of August 10-14, with Mysteel assessing the export price of SS400 3mm commercial-grade HRC at North China's Tianjin port on August 14 lower by $2/tonne on week at $481/t FOB.
Overseas buyers continued to push for lower prices, dragging down the transaction volumes for common-grade material and further widening the gap between mills' offers and actual workable prices, Mysteel Global learned.
Hot coil offers from mainstream Chinese state-owned mills were in the range of $485-490/t FOB China last week, while those from private mills centered around $485/t. Tradable levels stood around $480-485/t, according to Mysteel's latest market round-up.
In Vietnam after July's sharp decline, hot coil import prices showed more signs of stabilizing during August 10-14, with sellers from Indonesia and India even tentatively raising their offers by $3-5/t on week to around $510/t CFR Vietnam on August 11. However, they failed to meet the price expectations of Vietnamese buyers, with offers from Indonesia retreating again to around $507/t CFR Vietnam the following day.
By August 14, offers for both Indonesian SAE1006 3mm HRC and Indian SAE1006 2mm HRC were quoted at around $507/t CFR Vietnam, both unchanged on week.
Two cargoes of Indonesian coils, one for around 30,000 tonnes and the other around 10,000 tonnes, were concluded at approximately $505/t CFR and $506/t CFR, respectively, both for September shipment, according to market sources.
The relatively narrow gap indicated that buyer and seller expectations had moved closer together compared with late July, when buyers were generally bidding considerably below sellers' offers.
However, the emergence of transactions does not necessarily indicate a broad recovery in demand, Mysteel Global was told. Current purchasing is focused mainly on competitively priced cargoes with suitable delivery schedules and specific production requirements.
Restocking among Vietnamese users over the past two weeks has meant that local galvanized sheet and welded pipe makers in the country already have sufficient material for their near-term production plans and have returned to wait-and-see stance, local sources suggested.
Meanwhile, HRC offers from Japanese mills and traders remained flat at $585/t CFR Vietnam. Offers for Chinese Q235B/355B and Malaysian SAE1006 3mm HRC were also unchanged on week at $580-598/t and $615/t CFR Vietnam respectively.
In Saudi Arabia, import prices for 1.2mm HRC were heard at $585-595/t CFR, with the upper end of the range lower by $15/t from the previous week's $610/t level. A Chinese mill was heard offering at around $600/t CFR Jeddah, down $3/t on week and $8/t from the end of July.
Amid security risks along the Red Sea shipping route, some Chinese mills and traders have reduced their offers to Saudi Red Sea ports, with vessel schedules for cargoes also largely uncertain. High freight costs and limited vessel availability continue to be the main factors constraining deals for imported material.
In the United States Nucor, the largest US electric steel producer, raised its HRC consumer spot price (CSP) by $5/short ton on week to $1,160/st on August 10, reflecting tight supply and demand conditions there. On August 17, the mill announced another $10/st increase, setting its HRC CSP at $1,170/st, up $10/st from the previous week.
The tight domestic supply situation is expected to persist through the end of the year, as production among US mills is unlikely to fully meet demand, leaving the market reliant on imported material to supplement domestic supply.
Meanwhile on August 14, Mysteel assessed China's export price for SPCC 1.0mm cold-rolled coil at Tianjin port lower by $3/t on week at $538/t FOB.
Source:Mysteel Global