Taiwan's Feng Hsin cuts rebar, scrap prices

Mysteel Global: Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, on Monday decided to cut its rebar list prices and procurement prices for local scrap for transactions over August 19-23, according to a company official.

With the latest adjustment, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 18,500/tonne ($580/t) EXW, falling by TWD 400/t on week and marking the lowest since mid-February 2021, and its buying price of local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap touches a two-year low of TWD 9,600/t, down another TWD 300/t after the price cut of TWD 300/t on August 17, the official confirmed.

The price cut was partly due to the decrease in prices of global scrap delivered to Taiwan, Mysteel Global noted.

As of August 19, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap came in at $340/t CFR Taiwan, slipping by another $5/t from the previous week. There was no quotation for the Japan-origin H2 scrap over the past week, a local market source said.

Besides, the prices of square billets and finished steel items in the Chinese mainland market continued to lose ground with negative sentiment prevailing in the market and thin steel demand from end-users. This put more pressure on Taiwan's steel market and persuaded local mini-mills to trim their buying prices for local scrap and sales prices of rebar accordingly, Mysteel Global learned.

As of August 19, the price of Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet in North China's Hebei province was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 2,860/tonne ($400/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 140/t from one week before.

On Monday, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a pointer to China's steel-market sentiment under Mysteel's assessment registered Yuan 3,208/t including the 13% VAT, losing by another Yuan 89/t on week.

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