Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to cut its rebar list prices and local scrap procurement prices for business negotiations over February 19-23 to reflect the decrease in global scrap prices, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.
With the latest adjustment, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 19,700/tonne ($625/t) EXW for business discussions till this Friday, lower by TWD 300/t from that before the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday ended on February 14, according to the official. Its buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap is also lower by TWD 200/t at TWD 11,200/t, he added.
One major reason for Feng Hsin’s price cut this week was the further decrease in prices of global scrap delivered to Taiwan, Mysteel Global learned.
As of February 19, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was reported at $370/t CFR Taiwan, down another $5/t from two weeks earlier, and the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap had also declined by $3/t during that period to reach $378/t CFR Taiwan, according to a local market source.
Besides, though many building contractors and other steel users have resumed operations gradually after the CNY break, rebar demand is not so strong – a factor that had also pressured local mini-mills to lower their list prices, Mysteel Global noted.
However, rebar prices in mainland China have strengthened after the CNY holiday, mainly thanks to the higher list prices of Chinese steelmakers and market hopes for a recovery in demand in the coming term.
For example, China’s national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 4,043/tonne ($561/t) including the 13% VAT as of February 19, higher by Yuan 12/t from that on February 9, the last working day before the long break.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.