Thai HRC market quiet
2024-04-11 08:32:29 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 11 Apr 24 - With more and more end users retreating from the market for the Songkran Festival holiday, the HRC market in Thailand performs inactively this week. The current prevailing prices of HRC SS400 3.0mm*1,500mm stand at THB23,000-24,000/t (USD633-661/t) D/P in warehouse Bangkok, similar to late last week. Insiders foresee flat prices in the forthcoming several days seeing the slow market.
"We cut the purchasing volume by about 60% this month seeing the coming Songkran Festival holiday and the shrinking orders. April sees the weakest demand so far this year," noted a local end user, who bought 100t of HRC SS400 3.0mm*1,500mm at THB23,000/t (USD633/t) on Wednesday, while at least purchased 200t at one single time previously. According to him, orders for final products reduced as downstream plants maintain the low operating rates dragged by the capital shortage. Besides, all the three local HRC producers cut HRC ex-works prices by THB400-500/t (USD11-14/t) early this month, weakening the purchasing enthusiasms of peers. The source forecasts decreasing prices of HRC after the Songkran Festival holiday upon the stagnant market.
Based on the consumption capacity of 3,500tpm, the consumer estimates that they might use 2,000t of HRC in April, down from 3,000t in March. He roughly used 8,000t of HRC in the first quarter of 2024 and 30,000t in 2023. Presently, the consumer holds approximately 700t in stock.
"More and more clients took the holiday in the middle of the week, and we failed to conclude any deals on Wednesday," noted a local trader, quoting THB23,500/t (USD647/t) D/P for HRC SS400 3.0mm*1,500mm. He sold 10t of the material at the same price on Tuesday. According to him, the market remains quiet, and end users maintaining production keep not in a hurry in purchasing upon the decreasing prices from steel mills. In addition, they refuse to build stocks before the Songkran Festival holiday, for fear of a price decline after it. The trader predicts stable prices of HRC in the coming several days given the price rebound in China.
Holding about 1,000t in inventory, the trader might sell 400t of HRC in April, down from 500t in March. With the typical monthly sales volume of 800t, he recorded the sales volume of 1,700t in the first quarter of 2024 and 5,700t in 2023.
"We cut the purchasing volume by about 60% this month seeing the coming Songkran Festival holiday and the shrinking orders. April sees the weakest demand so far this year," noted a local end user, who bought 100t of HRC SS400 3.0mm*1,500mm at THB23,000/t (USD633/t) on Wednesday, while at least purchased 200t at one single time previously. According to him, orders for final products reduced as downstream plants maintain the low operating rates dragged by the capital shortage. Besides, all the three local HRC producers cut HRC ex-works prices by THB400-500/t (USD11-14/t) early this month, weakening the purchasing enthusiasms of peers. The source forecasts decreasing prices of HRC after the Songkran Festival holiday upon the stagnant market.
Based on the consumption capacity of 3,500tpm, the consumer estimates that they might use 2,000t of HRC in April, down from 3,000t in March. He roughly used 8,000t of HRC in the first quarter of 2024 and 30,000t in 2023. Presently, the consumer holds approximately 700t in stock.
"More and more clients took the holiday in the middle of the week, and we failed to conclude any deals on Wednesday," noted a local trader, quoting THB23,500/t (USD647/t) D/P for HRC SS400 3.0mm*1,500mm. He sold 10t of the material at the same price on Tuesday. According to him, the market remains quiet, and end users maintaining production keep not in a hurry in purchasing upon the decreasing prices from steel mills. In addition, they refuse to build stocks before the Songkran Festival holiday, for fear of a price decline after it. The trader predicts stable prices of HRC in the coming several days given the price rebound in China.
Holding about 1,000t in inventory, the trader might sell 400t of HRC in April, down from 500t in March. With the typical monthly sales volume of 800t, he recorded the sales volume of 1,700t in the first quarter of 2024 and 5,700t in 2023.
