A flurry of low-priced transactions for Russian hot-rolled coil into Vietnam during the week to Friday July 2 has shocked market participants in Asia, causing prices to fall and depress sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.
The deals follow Russia's announcement on June 24 that it would impose temporary export duties on ferrous and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union from August 1. This included a $115-per-tonne duty on flat hot-rolled steel and rebar from August 1 to December 31, leading market participants to predict a spike in HRC exports in July.A total of 155,000 tonnes of...