Asian hot-rolled coil market extended its uptrend Aug. 6, with mills hiking offers due to higher raw material prices, though buyers refrained from bidding and continued to be concerned about the sustainability of the price rise.
Platts assessed SS400 HRC of 3 mm thickness up by $2/mt day over day at $476/mt FOB China Aug. 6. The same grade was up $2/mt day over day at $475/mt CFR Southeast Asia over the same period.
Export offers were in the range of $480-$505/mt FOB China, though buying remained tepid. Also, bids were significantly lagging behind the offer adjustments, with indicative bids heard at around $470/mt FOB China levels. This left with offer-bid spreads of at least $10/mt to work with.
“Futures market is too volatile now, with most buyers still watching. The seaborne market is just quiet,” said an eastern Chinese trader.
The futures market continued to rise on Aug. 6 amid some news of overproduction and, hence, production curbs to coking coal in Shanxi province.
Additionally, market chatter revolved around some production controls in East China, with mills verbally instructed to keep their 2025 production volumes no higher than those of 2024.
However, overseas buyers remained skeptical about the improvement in market fundamentals, with many hesitating about procurement and expecting prices to decline soon.
The most actively traded October HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 3,451/mt on Aug. 6, down Yuan 6/mt, or 0.2% day over day.
Platts assessed the spot price of Q235B 5.75 mm HRC at Yuan 3,480/mt ($484/mt) ex-stock Shanghai Aug. 6, including value added tax, up Yuan 10/mt day over day.
In Southeast Asia, offers for wider-width Q235-grade coils rose by $4/mt day over day to $490-$494/mt CFR Vietnam.
The price spread between wider-width and standard coils of 1,200 mm–1,500 mm width remained unchanged in the range of $7–$10/mt. Offers for Indonesian SAE1006 coils were up $2/mt at $510/mt CFR Vietnam.
For both grades, buying interests were scarce. Local producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel is expected to release their domestic offers in the coming week of Aug. 11. Hence, buyers would want to get more price clarify before moving.
Platts assessed SAE1006 HRC up $1/mt on the day at $492/mt FOB China Aug. 6. The same grade of coil was up $2/mt over the same period at $504/mt CFR Southeast Asia.
--- S&P Global Commodity Insights.
