Taiwan's Feng Hsin cuts rebar list prices by $9/t

Mysteel Global: Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to cut its rebar list prices by TWD 300/tonne ($9/t) on week for transactions over January 13-17, while its buying price for local scrap has been rolled over again for business discussions during the same period, according to a company official.

With the latest adjustment, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 17,700/t EXW for business negotiations till this Friday, a new low since late December 2020, while its procurement price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap remains unchanged on week at TWD 8,600/t, the official confirmed.

Quotations of global scrap delivered to Taiwan resumed over the past week, with the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap reaching $295/t CFR Taiwan as of January 13, slightly higher than the $290/t quoted in mid-December, and the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap was reported at $305/t CFR Taiwan, the same level from two weeks earlier, a local market source said.

There was no quotation for US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap in Taiwan's market over the prior three weeks, and the quotation for Japan-origin H2 scrap also suspended earlier this month, as reported.

The relatively firming prices of global scrap lent some support to the prices of local scrap in Taiwan, while rebar prices on the island lost ground with the lower prices of rebar and square billet in Chinese mainland, the company official explained.

As of January 13, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a pointer to China's steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,431/tonne ($468/t) including the 13% VAT, slipping by Yuan 29/t from one week before with the thinning demand from end-users.

On Monday, the price of Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet in North China's Hebei province under Mysteel's assessment came in at Yuan 2,970/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, still lower by Yuan 20/t on week though it recovered by Yuan 40/t compared with last Friday.

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