Taiwan: Feng Hsin holds rebar and scrap purchase prices amid weak demand

• Japanese H2 scrap prices pause after rally
• US-origin scrap rises for seventh consecutive week

Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to roll over its rebar list prices and buying prices for local scrap again for transactions over 12-16 October, according to a company official.

For business discussions through until this Friday, the Taiwanese mini-mill continues to offer its 13mm-diameter rebar at TWD 18,300/tonne ($568/t) exw, unchanged since late September, while its buying price for local HMS 80:20 scrap stays at TWD 9,800/t ($304/t), the same level as one month earlier, the official confirmed.

Prices of global scrap delivered to Taiwan have remained firm recently. As of 12 October , the price of US-origin HMS 80:20 scrap was reported at $350/t CFR Taiwan, rising for the seventh consecutive week by $1/t on week and refreshing the highest since late June, according to a market source in Taiwan. Meanwhile, the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap was at $367/t CFR Taiwan, taking a pause after the continuous rally over the prior two weeks.

Although the firmness of scrap prices in Taiwan has lifted the production costs of local mini-mills, they are in no hurry to hike their rebar list prices and buying prices of local scrap, given the lackluster steel demand from end users, Mysteel Global noted.

In parallel, rebar prices in the Chinese mainland have remained rangebound recently amid the depressed end-user demand during September-October, even with most regions of the country enjoying pleasant autumn weather. This has also aggravated the wait-and-see sentiment in Taiwan’s steel market.

On 12 October, Mysteel assessed China’s national price of HRB400E 20mm rebar at RMB 3,327/t ($497/t) including the 13% VAT, representing a slight rise of RMB 7/t ($1/t) from two weeks earlier but RMB 3/t lower compared with the end of September.

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