Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, central Taiwan, has decided to roll over its rebar list prices and procurement prices for locally-sourced scrap for transactions over May 23-27, despite the drop in global scrap prices, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.
As a result, for business discussions till this Friday the mini-mill continues to offer its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 23,300/tonne ($788/t) EXW, taking a pause after clipping prices by a total of TWD 1,800/t over the previous four months.
The steelmaker’s buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap also stays unchanged on week at TWD 13,000/t this week, bringing an end to the continuous fall over the past one month, according to the official.
As of May 23, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was reported at $435/t CFR Taiwan, down for the seventh week by another $15/t from one week before. Meanwhile, the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap had slipped to $468/t CFR Taiwan, loosing another $29/t on week, according to a market source in Taiwan.
The pessimism in Taiwan’s market has eased to some extent recently, as “scrap prices in the global market may have bottomed out after plunging by nearly $150/t during the past two months, and local end-users are expected to return to the market for replenishment soon after more than a month’s absence,” the official told Mysteel Global.
As for the steel market in China, falling steel prices further squeezed the profit margins of Chinese steelmakers and forced them to apply pressure to suppliers of their steelmaking raw materials including collectors and traders of steel scrap, Mysteel Global noted.
As of May 23, Mysteel’s steel scrap price index slipped to Yuan 3,817.6/tonne ($573/t) on delivery and including the 13% VAT, down Yuan 51.6/t on week, while the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel’s assessment dropped by Yuan 92/t on week to Yuan 4,839/t including the 13% VAT.
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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