The Asian hot-rolled coil market prices were mostly rangebound March 13, as persisting weak fundamentals could not support continuous increase and deals were transacted in small quantity.

The most actively traded May contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 3,769/mt on March 13, down Yuan 35/mt, or 0.7%, day on day.

Platts assessed the spot price of Q235B 5.75 mm HRC in Shanghai down Yuan 30/mt day on day at Yuan 3,850/mt ($537/ mt) ex-stock Shanghai on March 13, including value added tax.

In the Chinese market, export offers were heard from $550- $565/mt. One northern Chinese mill source said a small order was concluded at $565/mt FOB Jingtang.

Platts assessed SS400 HRC of 3 mm thickness down $1/ mt day on day at $527/mt FOB China on March 13. The same grade of the coil was also assessed down $1/mt at $530/mt CFR Southeast Asia over the same period.

In the Vietnamese market, offers for Q235 were in the $530- $535/mt CFR range, with afternoon offers being lower due to falling Shanghai Futures curve. A deal of 5,000 mt Q235 material was heard at $530/mt CFR, where the offer and bid converged, a Chinese trader who oversaw the transaction said.

On March 13, Vietnam’s steelmaker Formosa Ha Tinh Steel released its May-June shipment offers, with non-skinpassed SAE1006 and pipe-making SS400 grade in the $593-$600/mt CIF Vietnam range, down $5-$11/mt from the previous month. This drop was deemed too modest by local buyers.

Platts assessed SAE1006 HRC down $1/mt on the day at $564/ mt FOB China March 13. The same grade of the coil was assessed unchanged over the same period at $569/mt CFR Southeast Asia.