Asian hot-rolled coil prices held steady May 14 amid a lack of buying interest in the spot market, with participants adopting a wait-and-see approach while monitoring developments from the US-China trade talks in Beijing.
Platts assessed 3-mm-thick SS400 HRC at $506/metric ton FOB China May 14, unchanged day over day. The same grade was assessed at $585/mt CFR Southeast Asia, unchanged over the same period.
Export offers from private mills held steady at $510/mt FOB China or higher, with mainstream mills also keeping offers unchanged at $520/mt FOB.
A source from a major East China mill said the producer was firm on prices despite the lack of buying indications in the spot market, as buyers remained on the sidelines.
“I think we can consider if prices are above $508/mt FOB,” a Northern China mill source said. The mill’s offer was reported at $513/mt FOB Caofeidian, unchanged day over day. “Nobody is buying at current offer levels,” a China-based trader said, adding that the re-emergence of non-VAT cargoes has dampened buying ideas.
Non-VAT cargoes were heard offered at $500/mt FOB China, with bids at $5/mt lower, the trader said.
The most actively traded May HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 3,478/mt on May 14, up Yuan 3/ mt, or 0.1%, day over day.
Platts assessed the spot price of Q235B 5.75-mm HRC at Yuan 3,500/mt ($516/mt) ex-stock Shanghai May 14, including value added tax, unchanged day over day.
In Southeast Asia, Indian SS400 and SAE1006 30% 2-mm thick HRC offers were largely rangebound at $590/mt CFR Vietnam, with a major stockist heard to have booked large volumes from mills in recent months and to have offered positioned cargoes to rerollers.
Indonesian 3-mm thick coils also held steady at $565/mt FOB Morowali, or about $585/mt CFR Vietnam.
A China-based mill source said the mill’s tradeable levels were only $1-$2/mt below offers. Non-VAT Chinese Q195-grade coils were heard to be offered at $512/mt CFR Vietnam.
Japanese SAE1006 coils were offered at about $635/mt CFR Vietnam.
A Vietnam-based mill source said the market is expecting a price cut from a domestic mill in the coming days, after its latest price was deemed too high and failed to hit its target volume.
Platts assessed SAE1006 HRC at $525/mt FOB China on May 14, unchanged day over day. The same grade of coil was unchanged over the same period at $585/mt CFR Southeast Asia.
