Taiwan's Feng Hsin Lifts Rebar, Scrap Prices by USD 10/MT
...
Taiwan's largest rebar producer, Feng Hsin Steel, headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has raised its rebar list price and buying price for locally-sourced scrap, each by TWD 300/MT (USD 10/MT) over April 20-24, the first increase for rebar since mid-March or the second week of rise for scrap amid the further strengthening in global scrap market and the steady rebar sales in Taiwan, a company official confirmed on April 20.
With the latest adjustment, Feng Hsin's latest list price of the 13MM dia rebar is at TWD 14,600/MT ex-works for the sales throughout the week, and the mini-mill's buying price for locally-sourced 1&2 80:20 scrap is at TWD 6,800/MT.
This has been the second week in a row for Feng Hsin to raise the scrap procurement price, or up a total of TWD 600/MT in two weeks, in response to the continuous recovery in the global scrap price, Mysteel Global noted.
As of April 20, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap, a key reference price for Taiwan's scrap and rebar markets, came in at USD 215/MT CFR Taiwan, gaining another USD 5/MT on week, and that of the Japanese H2 scrap increased more substantially by USD 10/MT to USD 225/MT CFR Taiwan, local market source disclosed.
Japan's scrap supply has been in reduction as the country has declared State of Emergency nationwide starting April 8, and many non-essential businesses have slowed down in pace.
On the other hand, demand for construction steel has remained firm recently, and Feng Hsin's rebar sales, for example, "has performed well over the past three weeks", according to the company official, which is partly due to the relatively low prices, as well as the growing procurement enthusiasm among the downstream users amid the recent global scrap price recovery.
The recent rises in both the rebar and scrap prices, however, have not been sufficient to lift up the steel market sentiment in Taiwan. "We have been adjusting our prices following the global trend, but not sure how long the uptrend will last," the Feng Hsin official admitted.
Global economy is with greater uncertainties, and on April 20 the U.S. oil prices crashed into negative territory for the first time in history as the evaporation of demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic left the world awash with oil.
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
