Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to lift both its rebar list prices and buying prices for locally-sourced scrap for business over March 2-5, a company official told Mysteel Global on Tuesday. The mini-mill is factoring-in higher scrap prices in the global market and an improvement in rebar sales.
With the latest adjustment, Feng Hsin is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 19,500/tonne ($700/t) EXW, higher by another TWD 400/t from the prior week and hitting the highest since late January. In parallel, its price for locally-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap is higher by TWD 500/t on week at TWD 10,800/t for purchases until this Friday, according to the official.
The mini-mill did not convene its usual weekly pricing meeting on Monday morning this week, as Taiwan was celebrating a public holiday on March 1 because of the Peace Memorial Day on February 28, Mysteel Global noted.
One major reason for Feng Hsin’s decision to hike prices was the persistent rally in global scrap prices after Taiwan’s Chinese New Year holiday over February 10-16. “Scrap prices (in the global market) have increased by more than $70/t over the past two weeks to approach their most recent high in mid-January,” the official said.
As of March 2, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was assessed at $430/t CFR Taiwan, up another $15/t on week, and that of Japan-origin H2 scrap was at $450/t CFR Taiwan, rising by a larger $20/t on week, industry sources said.
At the same time, rebar sales have performed better over the past week, encouraging mini-mills in Taiwan to lift their list prices to offset higher raw materials costs, Mysteel Global was told.
Major electric-arc-furnace steelmakers in China also lifted their scrap procurement prices to secure more deliveries and satisfy their firm demand. For example, Shagang Group, China’s largest EAF steel mill, has decided to raise its steel scrap buying price by Yuan 100/tonne ($15.5/t) effective from March 2, as reported.
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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