Taiwan’s Feng Hsin Steel rolls over rebar, scrap prices

• Taiwan’s Feng Hsin Steel rolls over rebar, scrap prices
• Global scrap costs rise, but Taiwan demand stays weak

Mysteel Global: Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer, has decided to roll over its rebar list prices and procurement prices of local scrap for transactions over 18-22 August to monitor market changes, according to a company official.
For business discussions till this Friday, the Taiwanese mini-mill holds list prices for its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 17,200/tonne (t) ($572/t) exw, taking a pause after consecutive hikes over the prior three weeks, and its buying price for local HMS 80:20 scrap also stays unchanged on week at TWD 8,300/t ($272/t), the official confirmed.

Prices of global scrap delivered to Taiwan increased further however, with the price of US-sourced HMS 80:20 scrap reaching $310/t CFR Taiwan as of August 18, rising for the third consecutive week by $5/t on week, and that of Japan-origin H2 scrap was reported at $315/t CFR Taiwan, higher by another $5/t on week, according to a local market source.

The strengthening global scrap prices point to higher production costs, but after their price hikes in the previous few weeks, mini-mills in Taiwan would like to keep rebar list prices stable amid a wait-and-see sentiment in the local steel market. Market participants expect that rebar prices on the island may lose upward impetus in the near term and downstream users are in no hurry to place new orders, Mysteel Global was told.

Rebar prices in the Chinese mainland weakened recently, as market sentiment cooled when demand from end-users remained poor with high temperatures and frequent rainfall across much of China in summer, Mysteel Global noted.

As of 18 August, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of China’s domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at RMB 3,369/t ($469/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by RMB 39/t ($5/t) from one week earlier.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.