Taiwan Feng Hsin's Rebar, Scrap Prices Down by Over USD 6/MT

Taiwan's largest rebar producer Feng Hsin Steel has further lowered both its rebar list price and procurement price for locally-sourced scrap by TWD 200/MT (USD 6.6/MT) for March 16-20 as the scrap market sentiment is turning choppy both in and out of Taiwan, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.

Headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, Feng Hsin has trimmed its procurement price for the locally-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap to TWD 6,600/MT, a new low since late February, and its 13MM dia rebar list price has been cut to TWD 14,800/MT ex-works or having been TWD 500/MT lower than two weeks ago, according to the company official.

The recent price cuts have had more to do with the persistent weakness in global scrap market, and rebar price cuts to match the decline in scrap prices have aggravated the cautiousness and pessimism in Taiwan's steel market, discouraging local construction contractors from stocking up rebar for the time being, according to local market sources.

"Downstream (long steel) users opt to wait and see for the time being rather than to place new orders as they anticipate the further weakening in the global scrap market with the fast-spreading of the COVID-19 in Europe and America," Feng Hsin's official explained.

As of March 16, the global scrap price had stayed on the downtrend, and the price of the U.S.-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap, a key price reference for Taiwan's scrap and rebar markets, slid down by another USD 5/MT on week to USD 230/MT CFR Taiwan, and the Japanese H2 scrap price also dipped by USD 3/MT on week to USD 237/MT CFR Taiwan.

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