Taiwan's Feng Hsin rolls over rebar, scrap prices

Mysteel Global: Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to roll over its rebar list prices and buying prices of local scrap for transactions over 28 Oct-1 Nov to monitor market changes, according to a company official.

For business discussions till this Friday, the mini-mill is still offering its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 18,800/tonne (t) ($586/t) EXW and ending three straight weeks of increases, and its procurement price for local HMS (80:20) scrap stays unchanged on week at TWD 9,600/t, the official confirmed, the mini-mill having held its scrap price last week.

The two prices have lost the impetus to rise further, as global scrap prices delivered to Taiwan have declined over the past week, encouraging local mini-mills to hold the prices to wait and see where the market goes this week, Mysteel Global learned.

As of 28 October 2024, the price of US-sourced HMS (80:20) scrap was at $325/t CFR Taiwan, slipping by $5/t from one week before, while the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap also decreased by $5/t on week to $325/t CFR Taiwan, a local market source said.

Besides, the lower-than-expected demand from end-users has led steel prices in the Chinese mainland to continue weakening, which has also dampened sentiment in Taiwan's steel market, Mysteel Global was told.

For example, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a pointer to China's steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at RMB 3,680/t ($515/t) including the 13% VAT as of 28 October, lower by RMB 26/t on week though the improved performance of rebar futures prices had led the price to climb by RMB 66/t from last Friday.

On Monday, the most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for January delivery closed the daytime trading session at RMB 3,451/t, higher by RMB 89/t from the settlement price on 25 October, according to the exchange's data.

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