Hot-Rolled Cost and Profit Tracking on January 10

The European Commission has launched an expiry review of anti-dumping duties on certain hot-rolled flat steel products from Turkey, following EUROFER’s request. The review will assess whether removing the measures could lead to renewed dumping and injury to EU producers. The investigation covers April 2025-March 2026 and should conclude within 12 months. Current duties range from 4.7% to 7.3%.

Vietnam’s Formosa Ha Tinh Steel cut domestic HRC prices for August-September deliveries by around USD 40/tonne from the previous month, with finished SAE1006 HRC at about USD 545/tonne in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam’s HRC market remains pressured by weak demand and cheaper Southeast Asian imports, while buyers stay cautious. Hoa Phat also reduced August-delivery HRC offers by about USD 34/tonne, and prices may remain under pressure without a clear recovery in manufacturing and construction demand."

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Turn Bearish Again; Stainless Steel Spot Prices Weak, Trading Sluggish According to SMM July 8 news, SS futures retreated overall. Affected by capital operations, SS futures ended the previous uptrend and returned to a weakening trend. At close, the most-traded SS contract settled at 14,775 yuan/mt. In the spot market, dragged by the pullback in SS futures, stainless steel spot offers fell in tandem. The market sentiment of “rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn,” coupled with the off-season for consumption, made it difficult to reverse the sluggish trading pattern. The most-traded SS futures contract. At 10:15 AM, SS2608 was at 14,490 yuan/mt, down 300 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for Wuxi 304/2B were in a range of 530-980 yuan/mt. In the spot market, Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coil average price (up 50 yuan/mt); cold-rolled raw edge 304/2B coil, Wuxi average (down 25 yuan/mt), Foshan average (up 50 yuan/mt); Wuxi cold-rolled 316L/2B coil (unchanged); hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, Wuxi quotation (unchanged); cold-rolled 430/2B coil in Wuxi and Foshan (unchanged). During the week, the macro and industry logic game dominated futures movements. US inflation data retreated, market expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes cooled further, the US dollar index weakened, overall boosting valuations of commodities and nonferrous metals, providing macro support for the metal sector. However, industry sentiment remained persistently bearish. The issue of additional nickel ore quotas in Indonesia remained unresolved, and the market harbored strong concerns about ample nickel resource supply going forward. ...