A few deals done for ex-ASEAN rebar in Southeast Asia over the past two weeks have proved that slightly higher prices have been accepted by buyers. However, considering the slowdown of demand in China and the worsening of moods, further rebar price rises in SE Asia are questionable.
The reference import prices of rebar have been at $560-570/mt CFR Singapore, theoretical weight, increasing by $10/mt over the past two weeks. A deal at $560/mt CFR Singapore was done for ex-Malaysia rebar a week ago, while a bit earlier 40,000 mt of rebar from the major Vietnamese mill changed hands at $560-565/mt CFR. Also, there have been talks about ex-Middle East cargo being in negotiations at $565/mt CFR Singapore early this week, but no confirmation about the deal has been received by the time of publication. The import activities have been quiet this week as buyers mostly held a wait-and-see stance in concluding further purchases for rebar. At the same time, the Eid al-Adha in Southeast Asia curbed the trading activities.
The last offers for ex-ASEAN rebar in Singapore have been not below $565-570/mt CFR.
However, the weakening of sentiments in China has put pressure on the rebar market in SE Asia. Ex-China rebar offer prices from smaller mills and traders have been heard at $520-530/mt FOB, August shipment, edging down by $10/mt on average compared to the previous week. Large mills have been still assessing export prices not below $540-550/mt FOB.
“During the given period, the large-scale rainy weather and high temperature negatively impacted construction activities in China and slackened the demand for rebar. But Chinese policymaker announced to cut the loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points on June 20, bolstering market players’ sentiments to some extent, providing certain support to rebar prices—signaling rebar prices in the Chinese domestic market may fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week,” an international trader said.
Average rebar spot prices in China have lost RMB 37/mt ($5.1/mt) compared to June 16, standing at RMB 3,790/mt ($524.5/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of June 30, rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 3,721/mt ($515/mt), moving down by RMB 78/mt ($10.8/mt) or 2.1 percent since June 16.
$1 = RMB 7.2258