Taiwan: Feng Hsin Lifts Scrap Price by USD 6.7/MT, Rebar Stable

Taiwan’s largest rebar producer, Feng Hsin Steel, headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to lift its buying price for locally sourced scrap by TWD 200/MT (USD 6.7/MT) over April 27-30 to attract suppliers. On the other hand, the mini-mill is holding its rebar list price steady during that period to monitor market trends, a company official confirmed on Monday.

This week will be a short working week in Taiwan as the island will be closed on May 1 for the Labour Day holiday, Mysteel Global notes.

With the latest adjustment, Feng Hsin’s buying price for locally-sourced 1&2 80:20 scrap is at TWD 7,000/MT, while the mini-mill’s list price for 13mm dia rebar is unchanged at TWD 14,600/MT ex-works for sales throughout the week.

“Our decision to raise the price (for locally-sourced scrap) is mainly aimed at attracting more suppliers and encouraging deliveries,” Feng Hsin’s official explained, adding that local scrap is in short supply for the time being as the recession impacting steel end-user industries is limiting the availability of scrap in Taiwan’s market.

At the same time, quotations for US-sourced scrap also witnessed an obvious decline recently, according to the official.

However, scrap prices in the global market remained generally stable over the past week. As of April 27, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap, a key reference price for Taiwan’s scrap and rebar markets, stayed at USD 15/MT CFR Taiwan, the same level as one week earlier. That of Japanese H2 scrap only saw a minor rise of USD 2/MT to reach USD 227/MT CFR Taiwan, a local market source disclosed.

Given the stability of global scrap prices, the mini-mill in Taiwan decided to adopt a wait-and-see stance regarding steel market trends and so rolled over its rebar list price this week, even though its rebar sales remained stable after last week’s price rise, Mysteel Global notes.

Feng Hsin’s price adjustment for rebar sales during this week is in line with market expectations as local market participants believe that global scrap prices may have reached their zenith, Mysteel Global learned.

This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint Research.