Asian hot-rolled coil prices inched upwards Sept. 16, as sell-side offers did not show downward movement after weeks of sluggish trade even though buyers in Southeast Asia had low buying indications.

         S&P Global Platts assessed SAE1006 HRC at $961/mt FOB China, up $1/mt day on day. On a CFR Southeast Asia basis, the same grade of coil was assessed at $893/mt, up $3/mt over the same period.

         Buyers in Vietnam remained on the sidelines, with very low buying indications at $840-$880/mt depending on origin, even though trader offers of Indian origin HRC stood at $910/mt, sources said.

         “Some people are back to buy this week as [Vietnam] government had said that they will steadily release the lockdown,” a Shanghai-based trader said.

         “We don’t see many inquiries from users yet. HCMC is badly impacted by COVID. It seems traders are taking positions expecting demand revival once lockdown opens,” an Indian trader said.

          At the same time, Indian mills were largely seen focusing either on their domestic market which yielded similar realizations, or on finding niche export markets globally with remunerative prices such as in Latin America, South Korea and Middle East.

          Separately, Platts assessed SS400 HRC 3 mm thick at $926/mt FOB China, up $1/mt on the day. On a CFR Southeast Asia basis, the same grade of coil was assessed at $881/mt, up $1/mt on the day.

          In Shanghai, the spot price of Q235 5.5 mm HRC was assessed at Yuan 5,790/mt ($582.82/mt) ex-stock, including value-added tax, up Yuan 30/mt on the day. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most actively traded October 2020 contract closed at Yuan 5,743/mt, up Yuan 49/mt or 0.9% from the same period.

-- Steel Business Briefing