Taiwan Feng Hsin cuts rebar, scrap prices by $22/t
Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan’s largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to trim both its rebar list price and buying price of lo...
With the latest adjustments, the mini-mill's list price of 13mm dia rebar drops to TWD 22,800/t EXW, and it will pay TWD 12,000/t for locally-produced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap, according to him.
"We cut our scrap procurement price for local supplies twice on Monday and on November 6, each time by TWD 300/t," the official explained.
Unlike the weekly rebar pricing policy, Feng Hsin may adjust its steel scrap price more than once over Monday-Sunday to more closely follow the global trend, Mysteel Global understands.
As of November 8, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap slipped for the second week to $475/t CFR Taiwan, down another $8/t on week, and that of Japan-origin H2 scrap posted a sharper on-week fall of $10/t to $525/t CFR Taiwan, according to a local market source.
Besides, major Chinese steelmakers have been trimming their scrap procurement prices frequencies since the start of November on shrinking steel profit margins, among which Shagang Group, China's leading electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steelmaker in East China's Jiangsu province, for example, cut its scrap buying prices on November 3, November 5, and November 8 by a total of Yuan 180/tonne ($28.2/t), as reported.
Rebar prices in Taiwan have also lost ground, as end-users appear reluctant to buy in large volumes, according to the Feng Hsin official. "They prefer to wait and see on noting the falling steelmaking raw material prices, even though some local mini-mills have offered some discounts to facilitate sales," he added.
Meanwhile, the persistent slide in the rebar prices in mainland China has also aggravated the pessimism in Taiwan's steel market, he noted. As of November 8, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, under Mysteel's assessment, fell below the Yuan 5,000/t threshold for the first time since early July, hitting its four-month low of Yuan 4,995/t including the 13% VAT, or down Yuan 309/t on week.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
