Asian hot-rolled coil prices rose March 25 amid higher freight rates and firmer price expectations from mills, supported by elevated production costs and strong raw material prices.
Platts assessed SS400 HRC of 3-mm thickness at $480/mt FOB China on March 25, up $3/mt day over day. The same grade was assessed at $526/mt CFR Southeast Asia, up $6/mt over the same period.
Export offers from China moved rangebound at $483-500/ mt FOB China, with tradeable levels for private mills reported at $480/mt FOB Jingtang.
Mainstream mill offers hovered at $495-$500/mt FOB Bayuquan, with sellers indicating tradable levels at $490/mt FOB, a mainstream mill source said.
The source added that allocations were limited, with some end-users willing to pay above $480/mt FOB for coils.
“Speculation demand is not good,” he said, adding that Middle East customers had just returned from the Eid al-Fitr holidays.
The most actively traded May HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 3,313/mt on March 25, down Yuan 11/mt, or 0.3%, day over day.
Platts assessed the spot price of Q235B 5.75 mm HRC at Yuan 3,300/mt ($478/mt) ex-stock Shanghai on March 25, including value-added tax, down Yuan 10/mt day over day.
In Southeast Asia, import offers have risen significantly in recent days, prompting most buyers to adopt a wait-and-see approach as they await fresh offers from domestic mills.
Chinese Q235-grade coils were reported at $525/mt CFR Vietnam. Indicative offers for Indian material were reported at $540- $550/mt CFR Vietnam, while offers from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan ranged from $540 to $570/mt CFR Vietnam.
A deal for 10,000 mt of Indian HRC was heard to have been concluded this week at $525/mt CFR Vietnam for late-April shipment, but this could not be widely verified.
“It was a trader’s position cargo that has sold out already. I’m assuming if bids are at $525/mt CFR, offers are much higher,” a Singapore-based trader said.
“There is no chance for deals to be concluded at that level now, as it is too low relative to sellers’ expectations,” a Vietnam based trader said, adding that tradeable levels should be at least $530/mt CFR Vietnam.
A Japan-based trader said a leading Japanese mill was offering at $550/mt CFR Vietnam, though a significant gap remained between mill expectations and buyer indications.
“They’re quoting high prices, but we haven’t heard of any deals closing, and customers are not willing to raise their bids,” the trader added.
Platts assessed SAE1006 HRC at $497/mt FOB China on March 25, up $3/mt day over day. The same grade of coil was up $6/mt over the same period at $526/mt CFR Southeast Asia.
