Formosa is cutting prices for hot-rolled steel for sale in August and September

Vietnam’s domestic market is being affected by weak demand and cheaper imports

The Vietnamese steel company Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) has reduced its domestic prices for hot-rolled coils by approximately $40/t compared with the previous month for deliveries in August–September. This was reported by BigMint.

Following the adjustment, the price of FHS’s finished SAE1006 hot-rolled coils now stands at approximately $545/t in Ho Chi Minh City.

The domestic HRC market in Vietnam remained under pressure last week. Demand was low, with buyers largely adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of the publication of the latest monthly price announcements for hot-rolled coils from major local producers. Furthermore, market sentiment was affected by a fall in the cost of imported hot-rolled steel in South-East Asia.

The domestic market for hot-rolled steel in Vietnam is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, with limited trading activity. Import offers will continue to influence the positions of local producers. BigMint expects that, in the absence of a significant recovery in demand from the manufacturing and construction sectors, prices for hot-rolled steel will tend to fall.

It should be noted that in early July, another Vietnamese steel producer, Hoa Phat, announced a sharp reduction in prices for hot-rolled coils for the domestic market for August deliveries. The new offer fell by $34/t compared with the previous month.

As reported by GMK Center, global prices for hot-rolled coils showed mixed trends in May. On the European market, average monthly offers fell by 2–4 per cent, whilst in China and the US there was a slight increase of 3–4 per cent.