Hot-rolled coil prices in Vietnam softened over the past week, but movements in the iron ore market will likely stimulate spot demand for the flat steel product from the major buyer, sources told Fastmarkets.
Prices for the steelmaking raw material surged last week amid concerns over the supply of high-grade Brazilian materials, which in turn emerged as a result of speculation about there being hundreds of Covid-19 infections at Vale's mines in Itabira, in Brazil's Minas Gerais state.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao rose by $5.30 per tonne to $102.39 per tonne on last Friday May 29 while that for its iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao ended the day at...