Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to keep its rebar list price and buying price for locally-sourced scrap stable over July 19-23 for the second week, though global scrap prices have softened during the period, a company official confirmed.
For the business till this Friday, Feng Hsin’s list price for 13mm dia rebar stays at TWD 23,200/tonne ($829/t) EXW, unchanged since July 5, according to the official. The mini-mill continues to pay TWD 11,900/t for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap.
As of July 19, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 had reversed down after growing over the prior two weeks, falling by $10/t on week to reach $460/t CFR Taiwan, a local market source said. The prices of Japan-origin H2 scrap slipped again for the fourth week to reach $478/t CFR Taiwan, lower by another $10/t from one week before.
The decrease in global scrap prices aggravated the negative sentiment in Taiwan’s steel market, Mysteel Global noted. “Local mini-mills are trying to hold their rebar sales prices stable this week given the limited rebar stocks at their yards,” the Feng Hsin official said.
Mini-mills in Taiwan must implement the local government’s restrictions on electricity consumption during the peak demand months of June-September to ensure power stable supplies for households. Subsequently, their finished steel output usually decreases during the four months, Mysteel Global noted.
However, the official also expressed concern that some local mills may compromise and lower their rebar list prices later if scrap prices in the global market continue to decline in the coming term.
Scrap prices in China continued trending upward last week on support of the firm demand, encouraging Chinese steelmakers to lift their buying prices to attract more deliveries. For example, Shagang Group (Shagang), China’s largest electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steel producer, had raised its steel scrap procurement price by Yuan 80/tonne ($12.4/t) effective July 17, or one month after its earlier rise on June 16, as Mysteel Global 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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