Taiwan Feng Hsin's rebar, scrap prices up $9/t

Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to raise its rebar list prices and procurement prices for local scrap by TWD 300/tonne ($9.3/t) respectively on week for the business negotiations over November 13-17, mainly driven by the higher global scrap prices and the growth in finished steel prices in mainland China, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.

With the latest price adjustment, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 19,400/t for business discussions till this Friday, and its procurement price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap reaches TWD 11,000/t, according to the official.

One major reason for Feng Hsin's price hike was the further rise in the prices of global scrap delivered to Taiwan, Mysteel Global was told.

As of November 13, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was reported at $365/t CFR Taiwan, up for the second week by another $5/t on week, while the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap stayed at $365/t CFR Taiwan, being unchanged on week after the growth over the prior week, a local market source said.

In parallel, finished steel prices in mainland China continued to recover over the past week, boosting the sentiment in Taiwan's steel market and encouraging local steelmakers to lift their sales prices accordingly, Mysteel Global learned.

For example, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of China's domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 4,001/tonne ($549/t) including the 13% VAT as of November 13, gaining by another Yuan 48/t from one week earlier and marking the highest since April 23.

"Rebar sales in Taiwan improved last week thanks to the improved sentiment, though we had cancelled the discount in actual transactions," the Feng Hsin official said.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.