Offer prices have continued to rise significantly in Southeast Asia over the past week, but some Chinese traders’ offers have become among the most competitive as ex-ASEAN sellers have been very bullish and have increased prices to a new high.
Offers for ex-China wire rod have been heard at $610-630/mt FOB, edging up by $10/mt compared to January 12. “There are only a few days ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday (January 21-27), and so the local wire rod market has been very quiet as most market players have left the market, though the rises in iron ore prices have provided solid support for wire rod prices,” an international trader said.
Some Chinese traders have been voicing offers to the Philippines at $640/mt CFR, which is up by $5-15/mt from the lowest offers seen in the market last week. At the same time, ASEAN-based mills’ offers have hit $660-670/mt CFR Manila, being at least $30/mt above the previous levels of the same origin. “There are some lower offers, but the bigger mills command higher prices,” a trader said.
Ex-ASEAN offers to distant markets have been mainly at $650/mt FOB.
Under the push of higher offers, the tradable level of imported wire rod in Southeast Asia has also increased, from $620-625/mt CFR to $630-640/mt CFR.
As of Thursday, January 19, rebar futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,196/mt ($620/mt), increasing by RMB 60/mt ($8.9/mt) or up 1.45 percent since January 12, while increasing by 0.99 percent compared to the previous trading day (January 18).
$1 = RMB 6.7674