Offer prices for ex-China wire rod have moved sideways in the past week following the previous rising trend and have been too high for Southeast Asian customers. Overall demand in the Asian market has been not high and rare deals have been heard mainly for Malaysian and Indian wire rod.
Offer prices of ex-Malaysia wire rod have been heard at $450-455/mt CFR Vietnam. They have increased after a deal was concluded at $440-445/mt CFR this week. The price level is in line with a contract for ex-India wire rod to Thailand last week. At the moment, ex-India offers are at $450/mt CFR Southeast Asia. Outside of the Asian region, an ex-Iran wire rod deal has been heard at $420/mt CFR Middle East.
Offers for ex-China wire rod from traders have been heard at $455-460/mt CFR Philippines, which has not attracted any demand. SteelOrbis has been informed that Chinese mills’ export prices for wire rod have moved sideways over the past week at $450-460/mt FOB. “Ex-China wire rod cannot attract deals in the export market compared to more competitive offer prices from other regions,” a trader commented.
Inventory levels of wire rod in the local Chinese market have continued to edge down. However, the Chinese currency has depreciated significantly in the past week, resulting in exporters’ holding a wait-and-see stance and being unwilling to give offer prices. Meanwhile, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have not issued any additional specific support policies for steel demand, which has exerted a negative impact on sentiments.
As of Thursday, May 28, rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 3,498/mt ($490.6/mt), decreasing by RMB 70/mt ($9.8/mt) or 2.0 percent since May 21.
$1 = RMB 7.1277