Turkish steel mills ended the working week with a single deep-sea cargo amid limited rebar demand, especially in the export markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 25.
A major Chinese steel mill sold small quantities of August-shipment SAE1006 HRC at $950 per tonne cfr Vietnam this week to a coil center in Vietnam, while another transaction was heard at $950 per tonne cfr Vietnam.
Another Chinese steel mill was heard to have sold August-shipment SAE1006 HRC at $965 per tonne cfr Vietnam to a Vietnamese galvanizer. But the mill requires buyers to shoulder 50% of any export tax if tax policy changes are announced in the near future.
The $965-per-tonne-cfr-Vietnam transaction was most likely not done however, according to sources.
“Why would any galvanizer pay up to $15 per tonne more for a Chinese cargo which cannot be used as substrate for galvanized coil exports?” a Vietnamese trader said, referring to the fact that galvanized coil produced using Chinese HRC would face hefty anti-dumping duties in the international markets.
There remained interest from galvanizers for imported cargoes at $950 per tonne cfr Vietnam, sources said, adding it was possible that Vietnamese galvanizers were seeking cargoes to central Vietnam.
There were bids from galvanizers at $950-960 per tonne cfr Vietnam for Indian cargoes, a seller source in India said.
Two major Indian steel mills lowered their offers to $980-990 per tonne cfr Vietnam, dropping past the $1,000-per-tonne mark they had been valiantly defending in recent weeks.
Market Chatter ***
“These mills could still be offering July-shipment cargoes. They should still have quantities remaining for Asia because their quotas in Europe have been filled,” a buyer source in Vietnam told Fastmarkets.
A third major Indian steel mill was also heard to be in the spot market offering material below $980 per tonne cfr Vietnam, although its final offer price could not be confirmed with the mill directly.
“There is no urgency for us to sell material into Vietnam or Asia this week. We are still assessing the situation and we expect more demand from next week,” a seller source in India close to this mill said.
Some market sources remain bearish on spot price trends, expecting SAE1006 HRC prices to dip below $900 per tonne cfr Vietnam due to the Covid-19 pandemic and weaker prices in bellwether market China.
This is especially so with China-origin hot-rolled strip already sold at $860-870 per tonne cfr Vietnam this week, and a distressed Chinese SAE1006 HRC cargo in a major South Vietnam port sold below $900 per tonne cfr Vietnam recently.
Buyers said there were also traders offering position cargoes at $920 per tonne cfr Vietnam, with sellers fishing for bids at $910 per tonne cfr Vietnam and inviting buyers to negotiate with them.
“I expect spot prices to drop further, so I am in no hurry to purchase,” a buyer source in Vietnam told Fastmarkets, pointing out that there were still offers for July-shipment cargoes in the spot market.
But others disagreed about price trends remaining weak due to the strong coking coal prices supporting hot metal costs.
Weekly Prices ***
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel HRC, import, cfr Vietnam, which mainly looks at 2-3mm rerolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products, was $950 per tonne on Friday, narrowing upward by $10 per tonne from $940-950 per tonne a week earlier.
A South Korean mill that regularly sells HRC to Vietnam has not offered cargoes there this week. A major Japanese producer was also not heard to be in the Vietnam spot market.
Another South Korean steel mill was offering HRC to Taiwan at $1,140 per tonne cfr.
Market participants indicated spot prices for Japan, Korea, Taiwan-origin material at $950 per tonne cfr Vietnam this week.
“There is no price spread between China, India, and Japan, Korea, Taiwan-origin HRC now,” a seller source from northeast Asia told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel HRC (Japan, Korea, Taiwan-origin), import, cfr Vietnam was $950 per tonne cfr Vietnam on Friday, down by $20 from $970 per tonne cfr a week earlier.
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