Taiwan's Feng Hsin hikes rebar, scrap prices

Mysteel Global: Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer, headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to raise its rebar list prices and local scrap procurement prices for transactions over February 4-7, driven by the rise in global scrap prices, according to a company official.

For business discussions through this Friday, the mini-mill is offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 18,000/tonne ($548/t) EXW, up by TWD 300/t from two weeks ago. Similarly, the procurement price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap has also risen by TWD 300/t during the same period, reaching TWD 8,900/t, the official confirmed.

Feng Hsin held its weekly pricing meeting on Tuesday to assess market trends following Taiwan's public holiday from January 25 to February 2 for Chinese New Year (CNY), Mysteel Global learned.

Recently, global scrap prices delivered to Taiwan have recovered, which has pushed up production costs for mini-mills in the region. This price increase has provided local mills with confidence to raise their rebar list prices and scrap buying prices accordingly.

As of February 4, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was reported at $305/t CFR Taiwan, a $10/t increase from two weeks earlier. Similarly, the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap also rose by $5/t during the same period to reach $305/t CFR Taiwan, according to a local market source.

In addition, steel prices in Chinese mainland are expected to remain firm following the CNY holiday, supported by relatively low steel inventories and expectations for a gradual recovery in demand from end-users. This outlook has helped boost positive sentiment in Taiwan's steel market, Mysteel Global noted.

Although China's steel inventories increased during the holiday due to the standstill in the physical market, the accumulation was limited compared to the same period in previous years.

Mysteel's latest survey showed that as of February 4, rebar stocks at warehouses across 132 Chinese cities stood at 6.9 million tonnes, down by 20.4% on year.

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