Taiwan Feng Hsin lifts scrap prices, keeps rebar stable

Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has decided to raise its buying price for locally-sourced scrap by TWD 200/tonne ($7.1/t) on week over October 12-15 in response to higher scrap prices in the global market. However, the mini-mill continued to roll over its rebar list price given the lackluster demand, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.

The mini-mill published its weekly prices on Tuesday instead of the usual Monday, as the island was closed on October 11 for a public holiday, Mysteel Global noted.

For the business till this Friday, Feng Hsin will pay TWD 12,400/t for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap, its first increase in three weeks, while the mini-mill's list price for 13mm dia rebar stays at TWD 23,100/t EXW, unchanged since late September, according to the company official.

Scrap prices in the global market grew further over the past week, persuading local mini-mills in Taiwan to adjust their procurement prices for local scrap to encourage deliveries.

As of October 12, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was assessed at $470/t CFR Taiwan, up $5/t on week, a local market source said, and that of Japan-origin H2 scrap posted a sharper on-week rise of $40/t to $535/t CFR Taiwan.

Japan's domestic H2 grade scrap prices have also surged recently, with the winning bid in Tuesday's monthly tender for H2 scrap for export during October jumping by Yen 7,031/tonne ($62/t) on month to Yen 53,291/t FAS, as reported.

Meanwhile, Feng Hsin preferred to roll over its rebar list price this week as demand from end-users remains depressed. "They (end-users) are still staying on the sidelines as the current rebar prices have touched a very high level in their opinions," the Feng Hsin official said.

Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com

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