- Weak demand, falling Chinese tags pressure rebar prices
- Feng Hsin keeps scrap procurement prices unchanged
Mysteel Global: Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer, has decided to cut its rebar list prices by TWD 200/tonne (t) ($7/t) for transactions over 1-5 September, while it continues to roll over its procurement prices of local scrap during the same period, according to a company official.
With the latest adjustment, the mini-mill is offering its 13-mm dia rebar at TWD 17,000/t ($554/t) exw for business discussions till this Friday, and its buying price for local HMS 80:20 scrap remained at TWD 8,300/t ($270/t), unchanged since mid-August, the official confirmed.
Prices of global steel scrap delivered to Taiwan declined slightly over the past week, with US-sourced HMS 80:20 at $308/t CFR Taiwan on 1 September, down by $2/t from a week prior, while those of Japan-origin H2 also dipped by $2/t w-o-w to $313/t CFR Taiwan, according to a local source.
Despite the weakness in global scrap prices, mini-mills in Taiwan decided to keep their buying prices of local scrap unchanged in order to attract deliveries. However, Taiwan’s rebar tags lost ground due to lacklustre demand from end-users, persuading local mini-mills to reduce their list prices accordingly to facilitate sales.
In parallel, rebar prices in the Chinese mainland also weakened lately, as demand from domestic steel users showed little signs of recovery. This aggravated the negative market sentiment in Taiwan’s steel market as well and put some pressure on local rebar prices.
China’s national price of HRB400E 20-mm dia rebar, a bellwether of the country’s domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at RMB 3,297/t ($461/t), including 13% VAT, on 1 September, sliding by RMB 57/t ($2/t) from one week earlier.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint
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