Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to raise its rebar list price and procurement price of locally-sourced scrap by TWD 200-300/tonne ($7.2-10.8/t) for business over September 13-17 in response to the higher scrap prices in the global market, a company official confirmed on Monday.
With the latest adjustment, Feng Hsin’s list price for 13mm dia rebar reaches TWD 22,800/t EXW, higher by TWD 200/t after staying at TWD 22,600 for four weeks, while the mini-mills buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap climbs for the second week by another TWD 300/t on week to TWD 11,900/t until this Friday, according to the official.
Scrap prices in the global market recovered last week, lending some support to Taiwan’s steel market. As of September 13, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was at $455/t CFR Taiwan, up $5/t on week, a local market source said, and that of Japan-origin H2 scrap also rose to $480/t CFR Taiwan, gaining $10/t from one week earlier and bringing an end to the decreases over the prior two weeks.
Feng Hsin’s decision to hike its rebar list price this week was mainly to reflect its higher raw material costs, as the buying interest of end-users has not seen any significant improvement of late, even though September is the traditional peak season for steel consumption in Taiwan, Mysteel Global was told.
“New orders from (end-users) decreased last week when we cancelled the discounts we usually offer in actual trading discussions,” the official said, adding that if demand from end-users remains lackluster this week, the mini-mill may continue to concede a little on the basis of its new list price in actual sales negotiations to attract buyers.
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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