Indian Steel Mills Aggressive on Exports; Book 1,00,000 MT HRC to Vietnam

Mounting inventories and falling domestic demand are forcing Indian mills to remain active in exports market.In recent trade activities, Indian steel mills heard to have concluded around 100,000 MT HRC export deals for Oct shipments to Vietnam, SteelMint learnt from market participants.

Around 45,000-50,000 MT HRC have been booked by Essar steel and 50,000 MT have been booked by Tata steel in the price range of $455-460MT CFR Ho Chi Min, Vietnam for October shipments, Vietnamese traders mentioned SteelMint.

Vietnamese traders shared that "Some bids in Vietnam are still at USD 455/MT, CFR Vietnam levels and here the market is currently facing aggressive supplies from India, China, Japan etc apart from domestic supplies. Market sentiments still seem to be negative."

Aggressive Exports by Indian Mills- Indian steelmakers are aggressively exploring export options to Vietnam and other South East Asian countries in order to clear inventories over significant fall in domestic steel demand this quarter owing to cash crunch, weaker consumer spending and ongoing monsoon season.

SteelMint reported towards the beginning of this week that few Indian steel mills had collectively booked around 70,000-75,000 MT of HRC with Vietnam in range of 455-460/MT for Oct shipments.

Vietnam Contributes 35% of Indian HRC exports-Vietnam is the largest importer of Indian HRC according to data reported by Indian government. In first 7 months of 2019, Indian exports of HRC and HR plates were recorded at 2.48 MnT, out of which 0.89 Mnt was recorded to Vietnam. Looking at the recent trade activities, it is expected that share of Indian exports to Vietnam will increase further.

Current imported HRC offers to Vietnam -
1.Confirmed trade deal heard of around 20,000 MT of HRC (SAE1006) from Arcelor Mittal at around USD 455-460/MT CFR basis.

2.HRC (SAE 1006) 2mm/ Korean offer– Hyundai is offering at USD 470-475/MT CFR Vietnam.

3.HRC (SAE 1006) 2mm/ Japanese offer- Nippon steel is offering at USD 475/MT CFR Vietnam.

4.Vietnam domestic Formosa reduces HRC prices significantly by around USD 51/MT and heard at USD 480/MT CFR basis for Oct-Nov shipments.However market participants shared that company is offering discounts of USD 5/MT for Oct end -Nov shipmets

5. JSW steel offers reported at $460/MT CFR Vietnam - Sources