Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to roll over both its rebar list price and scrap buying price for locally-sourced scrap over August 2-6 to monitor market changes, even though global scrap prices have softened, a company official confirmed.
For the business till this Friday, Feng Hsin’s list price for 13mm dia rebar stays unchanged for the fourth week at TWD 23,200/tonne ($831/t) EXW. The mini-mill’s buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap remains unchanged this week after Feng Hsin clipped TWD 300/t off the price for the prior week, according to the official.
As of August 2, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 slipped for the third week to $445/t CFR Taiwan, losing another $5/t on week, while that of Japan-origin H2 scrap was unchanged on week at $477/t CFR Taiwan, taking a pause after the continuous fall over the prior five weeks, local market sources said.
However, market participants in Japan expect the scrap export price to soften further this week, given the fewer inquiries from overseas buyers, as those in Vietnam and Taiwan are not showing any appetite for Japanese H2 scrap, Mysteel Global learned.
Scrap consumption among mini-mills in Taiwan usually stays at a relatively low level in summer when EAF makers are under orders to reduce electricity consumption to prioritize feeds for households over June-September, as reported.
Though demand for construction steel from Taiwan’s end-users was tepid last week, Feng Hsin leveraged the support of limited rebar availability (from the power restrictions) to roll over its rebar list price. “Although some mini-mills in southern Taiwan made some concessions to facilitate sales last week, these failed to arouse the interest of local buyers,” Feng Hsin’s official said.
“We will not take the initiative to give customers any discounts this week, but we may adjust our sales prices accordingly if it is necessary,” he added.
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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