Asian hot-rolled coil prices held steady Aug. 13, supported by firmer buying interest and recent gains in raw materials prices.
Platts assessed 3-mm-thick SS400 hot-rolled coil at $482/ metric ton FOB China Aug. 13, unchanged day over day. The same grade was assessed at $504/mt CFR Southeast Asia, unchanged during the same period.
Export offers from private Chinese mills held steady at $485-$490/mt FOB China, with bids reported at $480/mt FOB.
A China-based trader said the bid was not accepted due to higher price expectations from mills following gains in raw material prices.
Mainstream offers held steady at $500/mt FOB Bayuquan. A major east China mill offering base-grade HRC at $490/mt FOB Zhangjiagang was heard to have received bids from buyers in Turkey at $480-483/mt FOB but rejected them.
A Singapore-based trader said he submitted a bid at $485/mt FOB for 40,000 mt of the mill’s material, a level several Chinabased traders described as reasonable.
A Hangzhou-based trader said buyers appeared more willing to provide firm buying indications amid improved market sentiment, helping absorb the available supply.
Liquidity also improved modestly as buying activity picked up, though market participants remained cautious and continued to monitor export demand for clearer price direction.
The most actively traded October HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at 3,233 yuan/mt Aug. 13, down 6 yuan/mt or 0.2% day over day.
Platts assessed the spot price of Q235B 5.75-mm hot-rolled coil at 3,280 yuan/mt ($486/mt) ex-stock Shanghai Aug. 13, including value-added tax, unchanged day over day.
In Southeast Asia, offers for Indonesian 3-mm-thick SS400 and SAE1006 grade coils were stable at $505-$510/mt CFR Vietnam.
Offers for Indian SS400 and SAE1006-grade coils were steady at $510/mt CFR Vietnam, though a Vietnam-based trader said Indian quotations remained scarce in the market.
Platts assessed SAE1006 HRC at $506/mt FOB China on Aug. 13, unchanged day over day. The same grade of coil was assessed at $507/mt CFR Southeast Asia, unchanged during the same period.
