Taiwan Feng Hsin's rebar, scrap prices fall again

Mysteel Global: Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to lower its rebar list prices and local scrap buying prices for business discussions during the November 18-22 week, according to a company official.

With the latest adjustment, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 18,400/tonne ($567/t) EXW for transactions till this Friday, down for a second week by another TWD 200/t, while its procurement price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap is now lower by TWD 300/t on week at TWD 9,000/t, the official confirmed.

One major reason why the mill is cutting its prices again is the weak prices of global scrap delivered to Taiwan, which has reduced the production costs of local mini-mills, Mysteel Global was told.

As of November 18, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was reported at $315/t CFR Taiwan, slipping for the fourth week by another $3/t from the prior week, while the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap was stable at $325/t CFR Taiwan, unchanged since the end of October, a local market source said.

Besides, finished steel prices in the Chinese mainland have fallen quickly over the past week when market sentiment softened and demand from end-users remained lackluster, as reported. This also dampened market confidence in Taiwan.

As of November 18, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a pointer to China's steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,429/tonne ($474/t) including the 13% VAT, sliding by Yuan 103/t from one week before and touching the lowest since September 25.

Construction steel sales in the physical market remain mixed. Consumption among end-users in northern China has slowed gradually with the fall in temperatures, while demand in eastern and southern China are relatively firm for now, with local contractors accelerating the pace of construction, Mysteel Global noted.

Over November 12-18, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel's survey registered 116,120 tonnes/day, edging up 382 t/d on week.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.