Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer, has decided to lower its rebar list prices and local scrap buying prices by TWD 800-1,100/tonne ($28.6-39.3/t) for business over January 25-29. The mini-mill’s sharp reductions are mainly a reflection of plummeting scrap prices in the global market, a company official confirmed
“We cut our buying prices for locally-sourced scrap by a total of TWD 600/t over January 21-22 in response to the persistent drop in global scrap prices,” Feng Hsin’s official said, adding that the company had trimmed its price by another TWD 500/t from this Monday.
Feng Hsin’s rebar sales prices had been lowered accordingly, given the weakness in the raw material market and the depressed state of new orders, Mysteel Global was told.
Therefore, for this week, the mini-mill headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 19,100/t EXW for sales till this Friday, lower by TWD 800/t from the prior week, while its buying price for locally HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap has been reduced by a total TWD 1,100/t on week to TWD 10,100/t, according to the company official.
Scrap prices in the global market continued to lose ground last week. As of January 25, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap in Taiwan was $403/t CFR Taiwan, slumping for the second week by another $29/t from one week before, while that for Japan-origin H2 scrap saw a larger on-week decline of $35/t to reach $400/t CFR Taiwan.
Global scrap prices had fallen by as much as $50/t over the past two weeks, shaking the confidence in Taiwan’s steel market.
Building contractors on the island usually adopt a wait-and-see tactic towards steel purchases when they see that scrap prices globally are steadily falling. Currently however, their rebar consumption remains steady ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday – the traditional peak season for rebar consumption – as most construction companies will not shut down until the last day before the official holiday over February 10-16, Mysteel Global noted.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint Research.
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