Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to hike its rebar list price and buying price for locally-sourced scrap by TWD 200-300/tonne ($7.2-10.7/t) for business over October 18-22 due to higher scrap prices in the global market, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.
After the latest adjustment, the mini-mill’s list price for 13mm dia rebar grows to TWD 23,400/t EXW, up TWD 300/t on week after keeping stable for three weeks. The mill’s procurement price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap increases for the second week to TWD 12,600/t for business till this Friday, gaining another TWD 200/t from one week before.
“Rebar sales improved somewhat last week as end-users returned to the market for replenishment after noting that global scrap prices were firming,” the official said.
As of October 18, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was assessed at $478/t CFR Taiwan, higher by another $8/t on week, while that of Japan-origin H2 scrap took a pause at $535/t after the substantial on-week jump of $40/t over the prior week, a local market source said.
Last week to encourage sales, Feng Hsin had also offered discounts to buyers during actual trading discussions. “This is another reason for the improvement in demand recently,” the official added.
The year’s final quarter is traditionally the peak season for steel consumption in Taiwan, as local construction contractors start to accelerate their pace of building while the weather remains pleasant, Mysteel Global notes.
However, this year Taiwan’s demand for long steel has yet to see any substantial recovery as the sky-high rebar prices are dampening the buying interest of users. “They (end-users) just want to purchase some products to fulfil their immediate needs rather than building up stocks when prices are so high,” the official said.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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