[SMM Steel] Vietnam HRC Import Offers Edge Higher While Buyers Remain Cautious

[Sheets & Plates] Some export prices for hot-rolled coils and other sheets & plates remained stable WoW today, with HRC transaction prices concentrated in the $478-485/mt range. Ex-China wait-and-see sentiment was relatively strong, and market transactions were moderate. Some steel mills in the north and south maintained relatively high offers, but second-tier export producers lowered prices, with actual transaction prices near $475/mt. Inquiries from the Middle East improved recently compared with the earlier period.

[SMM Steel] Market feedback indicates that for Q235B HRC with specifications of 14-30mm and shipment in January, the FOB transaction price was $535/mt, with the port of shipment being Tianjin Port and the destination country being the Middle East.

BHP has reaffirmed its commitment to lower-emission steelmaking, reporting progress across industrial trials and technology partnerships even as global steel decarbonisation investment faces mounting economic pressure. The miner said it is working with 13 of the world's largest steelmakers, which accounted for a quarter of global steel output in 2025, to test technologies that cut emissions from existing operations and support near-zero emission steelmaking. Announced investment and funding commitments in steel decarbonisation totalled about 24 billion USD in the 12 months to April 2026. However, BHP said high capital costs, limited access to competitively priced energy and hydrogen, and weak demand for lower-emission steel are squeezing project economics, making the pace of decarbonisation more measured. Under its expanded partnership with POSCO, trials using BHP iron ores are planned for 2028 at POSCO's 300,000-tonne HyREX hydrogen-based ironmaking plant in Pohang, South Korea. In Australia, design work is complete for the NeoSmelt demonstration-scale direct reduced iron and electric smelting furnace project at Kwinana, Perth, involving AMB Holdings, BHP, BlueScope, Mitsui Iron Ore Development, Rio Tinto and Woodside, with commissioning expected in 2029 subject to a final investment decision. More than 100 electric smelting furnace tests since 2022 have produced over two tonnes of hot metal using Pilbara ore. Hydrogen-rich gas injection trials at China's Zenith Steel have achieved a 2-3% emissions cut, while carbon capture testing with ArcelorMittal and HBIS showed operating time and CO2 capture rates above 90%.