Taiwan: Feng Hsin cuts rebar, scrap prices as weak demand weighs on market

• • Weak construction demand continues to pressure steel market

• • Lower import scrap costs reduce mini-mill production expenses

Mysteel Global: Taiwan’s largest rebar producer, Feng Hsin Steel, headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to trim its rebar list price and local scrap purchasing price by TWD 200/tonne ($6.2/t) respectively from the previous week for transactions over 6 July -10 July in response to lackluster demand from end users, according to a company official.

For business discussions through this Friday, Feng Hsin is offering its 13mm-diameter rebar at a four-month low of TWD 17,900/t ($557/t) EXW. Meanwhile, the mini-mill’s buying price for local HMS 80:20 scrap stands at TWD 9,400/t ($292/t), the lowest since late March, the official confirmed.

Prices of global steel scrap delivered to Taiwan declined further in the past week, reducing production costs of mini-mills on the island and putting some pressure on the local steel market, Mysteel Global learned.

The US-origin HMS 80:20 scrap edged down by $5/t on week to sit at $340/t CFR Taiwan as of 6 July, falling for the sixth consecutive week and recording a total loss of $24/t from the end of May. No quotation for Japanese H2 scrap was available over the past week, according to a local market source in Taiwan.

Rebar demand from end-users in Taiwan remained dull during the typical summer off-season, while prices of rebar and billet in the Chinese mainland also extended the downtrend last week, aggravating negative sentiment in Taiwan’s steel market, the market source said.

As of 6 July, China’s national price of HRB400E 20mm rebar was assessed by Mysteel at RMB 3,285/t ($483/t) including 13% VAT, slipping by RMB 20/t ($3/t) from one week ago, and the price of Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet in North China’s Hebei province under Mysteel’s assessment declined by RMB 10/t ($1/t) on week to RMB 2,960/t ($436/t) EXW and including the 13%.

Weak downstream demand was cited as the primary factor behind the persistent softness in China’s construction steel market. During 30 June – 6 July, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod, and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel’s tracking averaged 89,549 t/day, logging another on-week fall of 3.2%.

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