Taiwan Feng Hsin lifts rebar list prices for 7th week

The rebar list price nominated by Feng Hsin Steel, which the Central Taiwan-based mini-mill has lifted continuously since late March, has climbed again for the May 10-14 week on support of firm raw materials costs and robust steel prices overseas.

For sales till Friday, Feng Hsin has decided to raise its list price for 13mm dia rebar to TWD 21,500/tonne ($773/t) EXW, up another TWD 500/t on week and refreshing the nine-year high, a company official confirmed. Feng Hsin, Taiwan's largest rebar producer, had added a total of TWD 2,700/t over the prior seven weeks.

At the same time, the company is paying TWD 11,500/t for locally-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap for business till this Friday, raising its buying prices by TWD 300/t on week after the rise of TWD 200/t it announced on May 3, according to the official.

One major reason for Feng Hsin's product price hike was the strong support gained from the global scrap market. As of May 10, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was assessed at $440/t CFR Taiwan, higher by $15/t on week, a local market source told Mysteel Global, while the prices of Japan-origin H2 scrap kept stable from the prior week at the four-month high of $460/t CFR Taiwan.

Moreover, finished steel prices in overseas markets have been growing rapidly, lending some support to Taiwan's steel market. "Although rebar demand from end-users has kept firm recently, the crazy steel prices in the global market, especially in China and the United States, are the major driving force for the strength in Taiwan's steel market," a market source in South Taiwan said.

For example, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a barometer of the country's spot steel market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 6,274/tonne ($963/t) including the 13% VAT as of May 10, soaring by Yuan 1,019/t from April 30 and refreshing the highest since Mysteel started the survey in March 2011.

"The growth in Taiwan's rebar price is trivial compared with the surge in overseas markets," the market source added.

Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com

This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint Research.