Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to roll over its rebar list prices and procurement prices for local scrap for a third consecutive week this week to monitor market changes, according to a company official.
Consequently, for business discussions till this Friday, the mini-mill continues to offer its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 19,400/tonne ($604/t) EXW, the same level since early May, while its buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap also stays unchanged on week at TWD 10,800/t, the official said.
The mini-mill is in no hurry to adjust its rebar list prices and procurement prices for local scrap, as global scrap prices delivered to Taiwan are largely stable, Mysteel Global learned.
As of May 27, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was reported at $348/t CFR Taiwan, unchanged from Monday of last week, while the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap was at $363/t CFR Taiwan, edging down $2/t on week, according to a local market source.
Besides, finished steel prices in mainland China have kept rangebound over the past week, aggravating the wait-and-see sentiment in Taiwan’s steel market to some extent, Mysteel Global noted.
Although many local governments in China have taken measures to boost the recovery in the property market, rebar prices in the physical market have been dampened by the weak demand from end-users.
As of May 27, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar in China, a pointer to the country’s domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,869/tonne ($534/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 3/t from one week before and by Yuan 30/t from the recent high recorded on May 22.
Mysteel’s other survey showed that the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses under its tracking averaged 134,308 tonnes/day over May 21-27, lower by 2,666 t/d from the previous week.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.