Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer, has decided to roll over both its rebar list price and its buying price for locally sourced scrap for the May 25-29 week to monitor market changes in the near term, a company official confirmed Tuesday. The Taichung city-based mill in Central Taiwan has now kept both prices unchanged for four straight weeks, Mysteel Global notes.
For business till this Friday, Feng Hsin’s list price for 13mm dia rebar remains stable at TWD 14,600/MT (USD 487/MT) ex-works, and the mini mill continues to pay TWD 7,000/MT for locally-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap, according to the official.
Although scrap prices in the global market had shown some signs of weakness recently, the mini mill in Taiwan was in no hurry to lower buying prices for local scrap in order to encourage collectors to make deliveries, given the limited supply in the market, the official explained.
As of May 25, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap, a key reference price for Taiwan’s scrap and rebar markets, had retreated slightly by USD 2/MT from the two-month high registered in the prior week to USD 230/MT CFR Taiwan. The price of Japanese H2 scrap also reversed down by USD 3/MT on week to USD 240/MT CFR Taiwan after the consecutive gains made over the previous two weeks, a market source in Taiwan disclosed.
However, “scrap prices in Taiwan may soften in the coming term as the island will soon enter the low season for scrap consumption because of the power supply rationalization,” Feng Hsin’s official told Mysteel Global, adding that some local mini mills had already lowered their buying price for local scrap this week. From June 1 till the end of September, Taiwan reduces electricity supplies to heavy power consumers such as steelmakers to ensure sufficient electricity is available for households during the hot summer months, as reported.
Feng Hsin’s rebar sales were better than expected despite heavy rainfalls last week, as “the price (for rebar) stays low after all, encouraging some end-users to place orders and lock in the low price,” the official said. Torrential rains over the weekend that deluged South Taiwan resulted in agricultural losses totalling NT USD 19.8 million, local media reported, with the steelmaking city of Kaohsiung being among the hardest hit.
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint Research.
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