Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to cut its rebar list prices by a further TWD 400/tonne ($13.2/t) on week for business negotiations during February 20-24, mainly to reflect the weakness in global scrap prices, a company official confirmed on Monday.
With the latest adjustments, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 20,600/t EXW for business deals till this Friday, according to the official. Feng Hsin’s buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap is currently TWD 11,800/t, following the two reductions of TWD 300/t the mill had announced last Thursday and Saturday.
One major reason for Feng Hsin’s product-price cut was the retreat in the global scrap market, Mysteel Global learned.
As of February 20, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 material was reported at $410/t CFR Taiwan, lower by $10/t from one week earlier and the first decrease since late November 2022, according to a local market source. The price of Japan-origin H2 scrap also decreased by $10/t on week to $425/t CFR Taiwan.
The fall in scrap prices in the global market aggravated the negative sentiment in Taiwan’s steel market, which persuaded local steelmakers to lower their rebar list prices accordingly. Local end-users were in no hurry to place new orders when prices have been showing signs of losing ground, Mysteel Global was told.
On the contrary, finished steel prices in mainland China increased slightly last week, as sentiment in the domestic market improved somewhat with the gradual recovery in demand, Mysteel Global noted.
As of February 17, China’s national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 4,288/tonne ($625/t) including the 13% VAT, gaining Yuan 28/t from one week before.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
Edited by Zhenqi Yang, yangzhenqi@mysteel.com
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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