Average offer prices for ex-China wire rod have edged down over the past week amid falling futures prices and still slack demand locally. Prices in Southeast Asia’s import wire rod market have remained stable, but market sentiment has remained very poor due to the absence of demand.
Offers for ex-China wire rod have been heard at $590-620/mt FOB, edging down by $10/mt on average compared to August 25.
“The poor performance in the real estate market has reduced demand for wire rod, exerting a negative impact on ex-China wire rod offer prices and, though market players expect better demand in September, uncertainty still exists,” an international trader said.
As of Thursday, September 1, rebar futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange (main contract shifts into rb2301 from rb2210) are standing at RMB 3,642/mt ($529.2/mt), decreasing by RMB 173/mt ($1.6/mt) or 4.5 percent since August 25.
Offer prices of ex-Malaysia wire rod have been heard at $590-600/mt CFR Manila and Bangkok. But the reference price has remained at $575-590/mt CFR. Bids have been very rare and hardly above $570/mt CFR in the Philippines.
Offer prices of Vietnam Hoa Phat CB240-T wire rod have been heard at $610/mt FOB amid the rebounding trends of coking coal and scrap prices, up $7.5/mt week on week.