Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to raise its rebar list prices and procurement price for locally-sourced scrap by TWD 500-600/tonne ($16.6-19.9/t) for transaction over August 22-26 to reflect the strength of global scrap markets, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.
With the latest adjustment, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 20,200/t EXW for local sales till this Friday, up for the second week by another TWD 600/t from the prior week, while its buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap reaches TWD 10,200/t, higher by TWD 500/t on week, according to the official.
The company opted to lift its prices again in line with strengthening international scrap prices, which buoyed the mood in Taiwan’s steel market and lent some support to local scrap and finished steel prices, Mysteel Global learned.
As of August 22, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap came in at $360/t CFR Taiwan, climbing for the second week by another $15/t from one week before, according to a local market source. The price of Japan-origin H2 scrap was reported at $370/t CFR Taiwan after the on-week rise of $15/t.
Besides, trading activities in the physical market also recovered recently, thanks to the improved market sentiment, giving local steelmakers some confidence to lift their rebar list prices further this week, Mysteel Global was told.
However, “we are not sure whether the better performance (of rebar sales) will be sustainable in the coming term, given the less optimistic outlook for the global economy,” a local market source commented.
Scrap prices in the Chinese market have shown signs of retreating with the weakness in finished steel prices, and some major steel mills have lowered their scrap buying prices accordingly to guarantee their profit margins, Mysteel Global noted.
As of August 22, the steel scrap price index under Mysteel’s assessment registered Yuan 3,203.6/tonne ($467/t) on delivery and including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 20.7/t on week, while the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 4,228/t including the VAT, lower by Yuan 82/t from one week earlier.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
Edited by Zhenqi Yang, yangzhenqi@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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